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t 


The Fortunate Days 




Other books by the same author: 

The Broom Fairies. 

Illustrated by Maud and Miska Petersham. 

Tales from the Secret Kingdom. 
Illustrated by Katharine G. Buffum. 


The Fortunate Days 

by 

Ethel May Gate 

Illustrations by Vianna Knowlton 


New Haven, Yale University Press 1922 

London • Humphrey Milford 
Oxford University Press 






Copyright, 1922, by 
Yale University Press 


©CI.A6S6661 


fiOV 6 022 


Contents 


'Hhe Fortunate Days, i 

First Day: The Rose Garden of Persia, i 

Second Day: The Dragon of China, 8 

Third Day: The Palace in the Moon, 13 

Fourth Day: The Buried Treasure, 20 

Fifth Day: The Daughter of the Sultan, 26 

Sixth Day: The Queen’s Wedding Dress, 33 

Seventh Day: The Sword of Honour, 41 

Eighth Day: The Prince of the Desert, 48 

Ninth Day: The Garden of Felicity, 58 

The 'Enchanted Isle, 63 

T^he Golden Horseshoe, 64 

Under the Ground, 89 

^he Castle of Delight, 90 

Hard Times, 107 

^he Story of the Learned Man, 108 

You and Me, 128 











Illustrations 


*'Then Hassan . . . drew his scimitar and 
placed himself at the foot of the stairway^' 
**The cat was making friends with the waiting- 
maidsy* 

**Without another word she led him up a 
flight of stepSy* 

''All of a sudden he was astounded to see two 
lights twinkling quite close at handf^ 

"At the third kiss she rose . . . and thanked 
the prince and the learned man most 
sweetly" 


facing page 24 
facing page 38 
facing page 66 
facing page 92 


facing page 124 




The Fortunate Days 

First Day: The Rose Garden of Persia 

O NCE upon a time there was a tailor 
of Constantinople named Hassan, 
who possessed a most beautiful cat. 
This cat had been brought by some 
merchants from Persia while a kitten and sold to 
the tailor in exchange for a fine velvet suit hand¬ 
somely embroidered, so you can understand that 
it was a rare and costly animal and that its 
master prized it highly. 

One evening the tailor was sitting in his 
garden stitching at a pair of stuffed breeches for 
the Grand Vizier when the cat raised its head 
and said : 

''Master, I have a great desire to see the rose 
gardens of Persia where I was born. Shall we 
take a journey together and go thither?” 

"What!” said Hassan. "Have you found a 
tongue in your head at last, old friend? I have 


2 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


long suspected that you knew more than you 
chose to tell.” 

''You are quite right,” said the cat, "but it is 
dangerous to attract too much notice in this city, 
so I kept my thoughts to myself. However, the 
time has come to speak. I have, as you know, nine 
lives, and you are a good master and I cannot 
imagine ever finding a better. So as we are now 
in the Fortunate Days, you can, if you choose, 
accompany me through all my lives and share 
the adventures which fall to the lot of every 
good cat. What do you say?” 

"I say, let us start at once!” said Hassan. 

"Then open the door of the garden,” said the 
cat, "for I can smell a Persian caravan coming 
down the lane.” 

The tailor unlocked the door in the high white 
wall which enclosed his garden and stepped out 
into the narrow lane of the city, then he picked 
up the cat in his arms and fastened the gate 
behind him. At that moment a camel came down 
the lane; on its back was a silken carpet and 
seated on the carpet was a man with a pointed 
beard and a curious turban fastened with a 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


3 

diamond. Behind him came a string of baggage 
camels laden with merchandise. 

‘'Good sir,” said Hassan, stepping forward, 
“will you take me with you to Persia?” 

“What is your business there?” said the 
merchant. 

“My cat was born there and I am anxious to 
see the country so fine an animal came from,” 
said Hassan. 

“It is indeed a handsome cat,” said the 
merchant. “Mount the camel behind me and I 
will conduct you thither.” 

So Hassan and the cat seated themselves 
among the merchandise and were soon travel¬ 
ling as fast as the camels could carry them to 
Persia. The way lay across a stony desert with 
no water except a few wells at a long distance 
from each other, and they suffered greatly from 
heat and thirst. One evening they were resting by 
the side of a well when the cat made a leap in the 
air and caught something between its paws. 

“What have you there?” said Hassan, going 
to the cat, and imagine his astonishment to find 
that it was a tiny little fairy clad in robes which 
glistened like a dragon-fly. 


4 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


‘‘Be careful, master,” said the cat; “she is one 
of the spirits who dwell among the rose gardens 
and can easily transport us all thither with a 
wave of her hand if she be so disposed.” 

The tailor knelt down and respectfully begged 
the little fairy to step upon the palm of his hand 
and ascertain whether her robes had suffered any 
damage from the cat’s paws, for if so he would 
repair them as good as new. 

“I do not believe you can do it,” said the little 
fairy; “your fingers are too big and clumsy. How¬ 
ever, here is a great rent in my mantle; do the 
best you can.” 

The tailor whipped out his needle and silk 
and sewed up the rent like lightning; then he 
embroidered a comet and a whole cluster of little 
stars over the place in silver thread so that the 
rent could not be seen and the mantle was more 
beautiful than ever. 

“Well done, well done!” cried the fairy. “You 
are indeed a skilful tailor. Ask whatever you 
wish and I will bestow it on you.” 

“Then deign to transport us to the rose 
gardens of Persia and grant us good luck when 
we get there,” said Hassan 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


5 

"Tt is granted,” said the little fairy, ‘'and 
when I reach Constantinople, whither I am going 
to visit my sisters in the garden of the Sultan, 
I will mention you favourably to the Grand 
Vizier.” 

Hassan salaamed very profoundly as he 
thanked her and the next instant he felt himself 
whirled through the air and before he knew what 
was happening there they all were in the very 
middle of Persia. The merchant to whom the 
caravan belonged was so terrified that he fell flat 
on his face, but Hassan soon raised him and ex¬ 
plained how it occurred. 

“My good sir,” cried the merchant, “how can 
I thank you sufficiently? Y^ou have relieved me 
of a great anxiety. Know that I am not a 
merchant at all, but one of the princes of the 
land. The king of Persia is suffering from a pain¬ 
ful disease which can only be cured by the leaves 
of a plant growing in the garden belonging to 
the Emperor of the Christians and which no 
money can buy. At the risk of my life I have 
obtained some of the leaves and was returning to 
my own country in disguise when I met you.” 

“O fortunate day!” said Hassan. 


/ 


6 THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

‘‘It was indeed,” said the prince of Persia. 
“All the roads into the kingdom are guarded by 
my enemies who are on the look-out to destroy 
me. For know, O Hassan, that he who cures the 
king of his sickness shall have his youngest 
daughter in marriage and the half of his king¬ 
dom as her dowry.” 

“O joyful news!” cried Hassan. “Let us 
hasten, sir, to claim the reward of your valour.” 

“And you, my good fellow,” said the prince, 
“shall live in luxury for the rest of your life, 
and your cat shall never want a bowl of cream 
and a cushion of satin to lie upon.” 

Thereupon the cat purred loudly to show its 
satisfaction and the prince signed to them to 
enter one of the gardens near at hand where he 
had a palace. Hassan had never seen anything 
like the garden in his life; there were roses every¬ 
where, climbing up the lattices, covering the 
walls, growing round the fountains, filling the 
borders and carpeting the ground with their 
petals. Pretty maidens were filling baskets with 
the flowers to make attar of roses and the air was 
heavy with perfume. The prince hastily con¬ 
ducted Hassan to his own apartments, where 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


7 

they arrayed themselves in new and handsome 
garments. Then they mounted two gaily capari¬ 
soned horses and set out for the court, Hassan 
carrying the cat in his arms. 

The king of Persia was almost at the point of 
death when they arrived and all the courtiers 
were lamenting for their master. The prince 
hastily ran forward, tore open the royal robe and 
laid the precious leaves on the king’s heart, when 
lo and behold! he revived and sat up. 

“Noble prince,” said he, “you have saved my 
life and shall have the promised reward.” So the 
princess was sent for there and then and wedded 
to the prince, to his great joy and contentment, 
for he loved her dearly. 

Nor did the prince forget the tailor to whom 
he owed it that he had eluded his enemies and 
reached the king’s court in safety. So Hassan was 
given a suite of apartments in the royal palace 
and a rose garden for his very own, while the cat 
was provided with a cushion as large as a feather 
bed and an immense bowl of cream. 

But the same night the cat came to Hassan’s 
bed and said: “Master, I am sick of cream and 


8 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


there is not a mouse in the whole palace. Shall 
we return to Constantinople?” 

''By all means,” said Hassan. "I cannot sleep 
a wink for the scent of the roses, and even the 
food is perfumed. I am a plain man and what is 
the good of a rose garden to a tailor? Let us be 
off.” 

"All you need to do,” said the cat, "is to bury 
your nose in your pillow.” So the tailor did so 
and fell fast asleep with the cat in his arms. 
When he woke in the morning he was lying in his 
own bed in Constantinople and the cat had just 
caught a fine mouse. 

Second Day: The Dragon of China 

"What is the day of the month?” asked 
Hassan when he had broken his fast. 

"The tenth day of the month,” said his 
servant. 

"Then I have been to Persia and back in less 
than a day,” thought Hassan to himself. "It is 
all a dream.” But at that moment his servant 
said, "What a handsome suit you are wearing, 
master,” and looking down, the tailor saw that 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


9 

he was still wearing the garments given him by 
the prince of Persia, and he did not know what 
to think. So he contented himself with saying, 
‘Tt is the new fashion.” 

The same afternoon he was sitting in his 
garden stitching at the breeches for the Grand 
Vizier when the cat said, ‘'Shall we try again, 
master?” “With all my heart,” said Hassan. 
Thereupon the cat clambered up to the top of the 
wall and saying, “Follow me,” disappeared from 
sight. Hassan hastily scaled the wall likewise 
and let himself down on the other side, when 
what was his surprise to find himself in the 
middle of a field of rice and not a sign of the 
city of Constantinople to be seen! The cat had 
already made itself a bed in the rice straw and 
was contentedly washing its face. In the valley 
Hassan could see a number of houses with queer, 
pointed roofs and a pagoda hung with little 
bells; near at hand were some men dressed in 
blue cotton, with almond eyes and long pigtails. 

“What country is this?” asked Hassan. 

“Honourable sir,” said one of the men, “this is 
the land of China, and the village yonder is 
called the Abode of Many Virtues.” 


10 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


‘Then let us go thither/’ said Hassan, so he 
and the cat walked through the rice fields and 
soon reached the village. The first thing they 
saw was a poor woman who rushed out of her 
house and began to bump her forehead on the 
ground, making a great outcry. “What is the 
matter?” cried Hassan. 

“Alas, most honourable sir,” cried the woman, 
“I am a poor widow and my only son has gone 
into the fields to snare quails and has not re¬ 
turned. I fear the dragon has devoured him.” 

“O miserable widow,” cried the neighbours. 
“He has surely been devoured.” 

And while they lamented, there came a man 
wringing his hands and beating his breast. “Alas, 
alas!” he cried, “I am ruined. The dragon has 
been in my tea plantation and his fiery breath 
has burnt up all the shrubs like so much stubble.” 

“Now by the beard of the Prophet!” cried 
Hassan, “is there no man brave enough to slay 
this dragon?” 

“Honourable sir,” said the people, “come with 
us and we will show him to you, and you will 
see that it is not possible to slay such a monster.” 

“For two pins I would slay him myself,” said 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


11 


Hassan; and the people said, ''We will give you 
much more than two pins if you succeed.” So 
they all went up the hill and stood upon a rock 
which jutted out over the road beneath, and the 
tailor could see the dragon in a little valley not 
far off, spreading out his claws and sunning his 
scales and spitting fire at every breath. He had 
great red eyes, a long neck and tail, and a row 
of hideous spines down his back. Then said 
Hassan to his cat, "Let us put our heads 
together.” 

After a while the cat said, "Master, if I entice 
the monster along the road beneath this rock, 
can you do the rest'?” and Hassan said, "That I 
can,” for he was a right valiant tailor. Then the 
cat sped down the hillside to the road below 
and made straight for the dragon, while Hassan 
made the villagers roll as many big boulders as 
they could to the edge of the rock they were 
standing upon. Very soon the dragon spied the 
cat washing its face and made a dart towards it, 
but the cat was too quick and leapt back along 
the road, the dragon after it. The cat waited a 
few minutes and then was off again, the dragon 
following, and soon they were both coming down 


12 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

the road, and making for the spot beneath the 
rock. When the dragon was just below, Hassan 
exerted all his strength and pitched an immense 
boulder over the edge of the rock on to the 
monster’s back and broke it. Then all the vil¬ 
lagers cast the rest of the boulders upon the 
dragon and Hassan borrowed a sword and leap¬ 
ing down cut off its wicked head and there was 
an end of it. 

After that, nothing was too good for the tailor. 
The villagers conducted him to the house of the 
mandarin who governed the village and gave 
him a chair of lacquer and ivory and loaded 
his fingers with jewels. Six little maidens with 
flowers in their hair and tiny little feet knelt 
beside him and fanned him diligently, while the 
mandarin ordered a feast to be spread. They 
brought rice and raisins in bowls, and sharks’ 
fins, and soup made from swallows’ nests, and 
preserved eggs and puppy dogs’ tails and all 
manner of strange things which Hassan had 
never heard of and did not like to eat. Mean¬ 
while, the cat was sitting on the floor looking at 
the mandarin’s pigtail, and as no one was paying 
any attention to him, he reached up and patted 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 13 

the pigtail and made it bob from side to side. 
This annoyed the mandarin exceedingly, for it 
was a long and elegant pigtail and he was very 
proud of it. However, the cat was delighted to 
have found such a fine plaything, and he began 
to have a fine game with it. So the enraged 
mandarin called upon the people to catch the cat 
and kill it and there was the most fearful din. 
Then the cat cried, ‘'Quick, master, follow me, 
for if Fm caught they will skin me alive; and as 
for you, you will never be able to eat their 
dreadful messes and you will die of starvation.’' 
Thereupon the cat rushed out of the house and 
over the garden wall, and Hassan followed, and 
lo and behold! as his feet touched the ground on 
the other side he found himself in his own 
garden in Constantinople and there was the cat 
washing its face. So the tailor gathered up his 
work and went into the house and straight to 
bed. 

Third Day: The Palace in the Moon 

The next morning, when he awoke, the tailor 
said to his servant, “What day of the month is 
this?” And the servant said, “The eleventh day. 


master. 


14 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


Then thought Hassan: 'T have been to China 
and back in an afternoon, which is absurd. It was 
all a dream.” But at that moment the servant 
said, ''What fine rings you are wearing, master,” 
and the tailor saw his fingers were still loaded 
with the jewels the villagers had given him, so 
he did not know what to think. 

However, all that day he stitched indus¬ 
triously at the breeches for the Grand Vizier and 
in the evening he was sitting in his garden look¬ 
ing at the moon when the cat called to him, 
"Come up on the roof, master.” 

"What mischief are you up to now?” said the 
tailor. "I must see into this.” So he hastened to 
the roof of his house and found the cat also look¬ 
ing at the moon. "I have a mind to pay a visit 
there,” said the cat. "Knot the end of your girdle 
round my neck, hold on tightly and we will run 
up this moonbeam.” So the tailor did so, and the 
cat started to run up the moonbeam as easily as 
a flight of stairs and the tailor went stumbling 
after. At first he expected to be dashed to pieces 
every minute, but he soon gained confidence and 
ran along with incredible swiftness. The jewels 
on his fingers flashed in the moonlight and the 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


15 

people on earth said, ‘'Behold a new and glorious 
constellation!’' 

They soon arrived at the moon and what was 
the astonishment of the moon princesses when 
they beheld Hassan and the cat! 

“How did you get here?” they asked, and 
when they heard they were more astounded than 
ever. “Nobody has ever come that way before,” 
they said, “except the Prince of the Dreams and 
the lady he married”; and when Hassan heard 
this he thought to himself: “There, I knew I was 
right. This is a dream and so was all the rest.” 

But the cat said, “My master is a notable 
Caliph of immense wisdom and learning, and 
nothing is too difficult for him! Moreover he is 
so accustomed to be surrounded by persons of 
intelligence that even I, his cat, can talk.” 

Then said the princesses, “We see that you are 
indeed a most accomplished cat and we are 
highly honoured to receive a visit from you and 
your master.” Then they took them into a mag¬ 
nificent palace carved out of ivory and spread a 
collation before them; the food was served in 
plates encrusted with diamonds and they were 
waited upon by twenty little stars. 


i6 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


When they were all refreshed the eldest of 
the princesses said: "‘We are particularly de¬ 
lighted to meet you just now, for we are shortly 
expecting a visit from the Great Comet and his 
train. He is a very great magician and only 
arrives once in a hundred years. On each occasion 
when he departs he leaves a riddle for us to solve 
before he returns and this time we have not been 
able to discover the answer. You have come in 
the very nick of time to help us.’’ 

Then said the tailor, “What is the riddle?” 
And the princess answered: “It will be no trouble 
at all to so wise and learned a man as you. This 
is it: 

“"What is it that begins nine times and has 
never been known to come to an end?’” 

“That appears to be quite simple,” said 
Hassan, “but I shall require a little time for 
thought and meditation.” So they showed him an 
elegantly furnished room which would serve as a 
study and begged him to consider the whole 
palace at his disposal. As soon as the cat and 
his master were alone, Hassan said: “Here is a 
pretty scrape you have got me into. I was not 
afraid of the dragon of China and I would have 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 17 

faced all the enemies of the Persian prince had 
he required it. But I am a plain man and I cannot 
guess riddles; moreover, I dislike magicians. Go, 
see if we can get back to earth.” 

The cat sprang out of the window and quickly- 
returned to say that all the ladders (meaning the 
moonbeams) had been drawn up and the earth 
was in darkness. 

“They mean to keep me here until I find the 
answer to the riddle or the Great Comet arrives,” 
said the tailor. “Oh, unhappy man that I am! 
Why did I leave Constantinople?” 

“Leave all tome, master,” said the cat; “I will 
tell the princesses that you have discovered the 
solution but wish further time for meditation.” 
And this he did, and the princesses were so de¬ 
lighted that when Hassan ventured out of his 
study next morning they pinned a large moon¬ 
stone in his turban and showed him all the 
treasures of their garden. It was a most wonder¬ 
ful place; the leaves of the trees, the grass of the 
lawns, the flowers and the very dust were of 
silver, and had the tailor not been tormented by 
the thought of the riddle, he would have been 
as happy as the day is long. However, the 


i8 THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

ladders were kept drawn up and the earth re¬ 
mained in darkness night after night. To add to 
his terror the Great Comet had been sighted in 
the western sky and was reported to be travelling 
towards them at the rate of a million miles a day. 
‘‘Now I am indeed lost,” said the tailor. “I shall 
be denounced as an impostor and this wretched 
magician will change me into a block of stone.” 

“Be comforted, master,” said the cat. “The 
moon may not withhold her light from the earth 
for more than a certain time, and in a few more 
nights the moon princesses will be compelled to 
let down their ladders. I have thought of some¬ 
thing we can tell them and we must make good 
our escape if possible before the Great Comet 
arrives.” 

Oh, how anxiously the cat and his master 
watched the progress of the Great Comet through 
the heavens! At last the eldest of the princesses 
announced that he would certainly arrive the 
next evening soon after sundown, and the next 
morning the cat in great excitement told his 
master that he had overheard the princesses say¬ 
ing the ladders must be let down that very night. 

“Good!” said the tailor. “I will go with the 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


19 

princesses in state to greet the Great Comet, and 
in the flurry of his arrival we must trust to 
escape.” 

“And just before he lands tell them this 
rhyme,” said the cat, whispering to his master. 

So the tailor and his cat, surrounded by the 
princesses, went out at sundown to receive the 
Great Comet with due ceremony. And when he 
was so near that they could see the diamonds in 
his crown and almost count the myriads of stars 
which formed his train, Hassan turned to the 
princesses and said, “This is the answer to the 
riddle: 

“A cat has nine lives and a man has but one. 
So no man can say when a cat’s life is done. 

It is true you may know when one life is past. 
But can you be certain that this was the last?” 

“Excellent! Excellent!” cried the princesses, 
and at that moment the Great Comet landed on 
the moon and they ran forward to welcome him. 

“Quick, master!” cried the cat, and he and the 
tailor ran for their lives to the edge of the moon 
and there was a slender moonbeam hanging be¬ 
tween them and the earth! The tailor flung him- 


20 THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

self upon it and slid right from the top to the 
bottom and the cat came rushing after. When 
they reached the tailor’s house they both went 
straight to bed; and they never knew whether 
the answer to the riddle was the right one or not. 

Fourth Day: l^ke Buried "treasure 

The next morning the tailor said to his 
servant, ''What day of the month is it'?” And the 
servant replied, "The twelfth day, master.” 

"There!” thought Hassan. "I have been a 
prisoner in the moon for days and days, yet only 
one night has elapsed on earth. I knew it was a 
dream.” Just then the servant said, "What a fine 
moonstone you are wearing in your turban, 
master,” and the tailor put up his hand and felt 
the jewel the princesses had given him; so he did 
not know what to think. However, he straight¬ 
way fetched his scimitar from the wall and 
thrust it through his girdle. "For,” he said, "no 
man knows what the day may bring forth.” 

All the morning he spent in his garden stitch¬ 
ing industriously at the Grand Vizier’s breeches, 
and nothing occurred. In the middle of the after¬ 
noon, however, the ground beneath him began to 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 21 

heave and he was nearly thrown backwards. 
‘'Another earthquake/’ said the tailor to himself 
and looked anxiously at his house and the wall 
of his garden. Both house and wall, however, 
were as steady as rocks while the ground beneath 
him continued to heave violently. The tailor 
sprang to his feet and moved aside the cushions 
he had been sitting upon and was astounded to 
see one of the flagstones rise like a door upon its 
hinges and a foreign-looking man put his head 
out of the hole beneath. “Come along,” said the 
man; “we want you.” The cat which had been 
dozing quietly suddenly sprang down the hole 
as though it had seen a fat mouse, Hassan im¬ 
mediately followed and the flagstone shut into 
its place behind him. 

The tailor descended a flight of stone steps lit 
by a solitary lamp which led him down and down 
into the earth and ended in a vaulted chamber 
where he found the foreign man and a number of 
others like him assembled. The cat was nowhere 
to be seen and Hassan did not like the appear¬ 
ance of the men; however, they greeted him 
civilly enough and explained that they wished to 
bring their property through his garden one night 


22 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


and carry it down to the Bosphorus, where they 
would embark in a ship for foreign parts. ‘‘We 
have tried to pass through on several nights,” 
said one of the men, “but the garden door is 
always locked, and when we tried to scale the 
wall, your cat set up such a caterwauling we 
feared it would alarm the watch and were 
obliged to desist.” 

“Why should you fear the watch if you be 
honest men?” asked Hassan. 

“That is our business,” said the men. Then 
they showed him what was in the chamber. The 
floor was covered with bowls and pitchers of 
every imaginable shape, fashioned of bronze and 
engraved with magic signs, and all were filled to 
the brim with gold dust, rubies, sapphires and 
other precious stones. Opening out of this 
chamber was another, and Hassan could see 
numbers of bowls containing emeralds, diamonds 
and pearls of fabulous value. Hassan was per¬ 
fectly sure all these riches did not belong to the 
rough men before him, so to gain time he said, 
“Where is my cat?” 

“Ah!” said the men. “Well bethought! While 
you are making up your mind we will find and 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


23 

destroy your miserable cat/' And to make sure 
that the tailor did not run away, they put a 
heavy chain round his waist and fastened it to a 
ring in the wall with a stout padlock. Then they 
went off calling, ‘Tuss! Puss!" and began to 
search the next chamber and the passages which 
appeared to open out of it. Directly they were 
gone the cat crawled out of a pitcher where it had 
been concealed, carrying a bundle in its mouth. 
It leaped upon Hassan’s shoulder and dropped 
the bundle in his arms, and what was Hassan's 
astonishment to find it was a tiny manikin in the 
dress of a miner, bound hand and foot. Hassan 
whipped out his scissors and cut the poor 
creature’s bonds in a jiffy, then he held him com¬ 
fortably in his arms and bade him tell him who 
he was and how he came in such a state. 

“I am one of the gnomes of the mountains," 
said the manikin, ‘and all these treasures are 
mine. These wicked men discovered my hoard 
and, as I have power over metals but none over 
men, they easily bound me and brought me 
underground all the way to Constantinople, 
where they intended to escape with their booty 
and leave me to perish." 


24 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


''Quick!” said Hassan. "If you have power 
over metals, unfasten my chain.” So the manikin 
laid his fingers on the chain, muttered three 
words, and the links fell apart. Then Hassan 
lifted him on a rocky ledge and bidding him 
stay out of harm’s way drew his scimitar and 
placed himself at the foot of the stairway by 
which the robbers hoped to escape. Soon they 
came tramping back, very angry because they 
had not been able to find the cat, and great was 
their surprise to find their prisoner free and dar¬ 
ing them to come on. They did not wait to be 
invited twice, but fell upon him with a rush; 
however, the tailor had been to the wars as a 
young man and was a skilful swordsman, as they 
found to their cost. His trusty blade went slick! 
slash! slick! slash! and at every stroke a robber 
fell down dead. Very soon they were all disposed 
of and Hassan lifted the manikin down from his 
shelf and bade him see if all his treasure was 
safe. 

"Most valiant tailor,” said the gnome, "fill 
your pockets with jewels and accept one of these 
pitchers of gold.” 

"I thank you most humbly,” said Hassan, "but 


'Then Hassan . . . drew his scimitar and placed 
himself at the foot of the stairway'^ 









THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


25 

I am a plain man and I should not know what 
to do with such wealth. Permit me to return to 
my own home.’’ 

'‘Alas, my brave friend,” said the gnome, 
"your home is no more. While you have been 
down here five hundred years have passed away 
on earth. You yourself are quite white-haired 
and so is your cat.” 

The cat and his master looked at each other 
and lo and behold! it was so. 

"Alas! alas!” cried Hassan, "what shall I do? 
I cannot remain here and if I return to Constan¬ 
tinople all my friends will be dead. I would I 
were dead also.” 

"Be comforted,” said the gnome. "If you in¬ 
deed wish to return to your own home and 
friends you can do so, but you must take nothing 
away for your own use. I will give you this 
beautiful opal which you must guard carefully 
to give to King Oberon the first time you set eyes 
on him; then you and your cat must go up these 
stairs backward and be careful not to take a 
single step forward until you are safe once more 
in your own garden. There are fifty steps and at 
each step ten years will fall away.” 


26 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


Then he led them to the foot of the stairs and 
carefully placed them with their backs to the 
stairway. 

The tailor went up pretty easily, but it was 
very difficult for the cat, as you will see if you 
watch how cats usually get about. 

‘‘Good-bye, good-bye,” called the gnome after 
them. “It grieves me I cannot do more for you, 
but as for your beautiful cat, he shall be for¬ 
tunate in all the remainder of his nine lives.” 

So they bade him farewell and went carefully 
up the stairs, at each step becoming ten years 
younger, and at last found themselves safely in 
the tailor s garden. It was night and the ladders 
were all let down from the moon, so the cat 
and his master went straight to bed and slept 
soundly. 

Fifth Day: "The Daughter of the Sultan 

When the tailor awoke next morning his 
servant was standing by his bedside with a bowl 
of Turkish coffee. 

“What day of the month is it*?” asked the 
tailor, and the servant replied, “The thirteenth 
day, master.” 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 27 

‘T knew it,” thought the tailor. ‘T could not 
possibly have been underground for five hundred 
years.” However, as he was dressing something 
rolled out of his pocket and when he picked it up 
he found it was the opal the gnome had given 
him for King Oberon. So he did not know what 
to think. However, nothing occurred all day long 
and in the evening he was sitting in his garden 
enjoying the cool air when the cat said: “Master, 
I am curious to know if the gnome spoke truly 
when he said all the remainder of my lives 
should be fortunate. Let us take a walk through 
the streets of the city.” 

So the tailor opened his gate and they strolled 
down toward the Bosphorus. They looked in all 
the bazaars but the tailor saw nothing so fine as 
the jewels given him by the Persian prince and 
the moon princesses; on the other hand people 
began to notice his costly dress and to say, “The 
tailor is getting on in the world.” 

“Come, master,” said the cat. “We are attract¬ 
ing too much attention.” So they left the bazaars 
and walked down a quiet alley beside the high 
wall surrounding the Sultan’s palace. Presently 
they heard a voice on the other side saying: “Oh, 


28 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


dear! Oh, dear! What shall I do? I do so want 
to see the world.” Instantly the cat sprang to the 
top of the wall and looked over. ''Come along, 
master,” he said; "here is something for you to 
do.” 

Without stopping a second to think, the tailor 
scrambled up too and jumped down on the other 
side. He found himself in a beautiful garden 
and looking at a little girl of about seven years 
old who was sitting on the ground crying bitterly 
and saying, "Oh, dear! Oh, dear! I do want to 
see the world.” 

"Don’t cry!” said the cat. "Here is my master 
who has been to the moon and is clever enough to 
show you anything.” 

"O mighty magician!” said the little girl to 
the tailor, "I see from your dress that you have 
come from far-off lands, and you have dropped 
from the sky into my garden and you actually 
possess a talking cat, so I am sure you must be a 
very wonderful person. Pray, what are you doing 
in Constantinople?” 

"I have an errand to Oberon, King of the 
Fairies,” said the tailor, "and I heard there was 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


29 

a fairy dwelling in the Sultan’s garden who 
might tell me how to find him.” 

‘‘Well bethought,” cried the cat, “I will find 
her.” And away he ran among the flowers. 

“Now tell me why you were crying,” said the 
tailor to the little girl. 

“Because I am so dull,” she said. “All my 
sisters have been married and have been sent 
away to their husbands’ palaces and shut up so 
that they cannot be seen. And that is what will 
soon happen to me.” 

Just then the cat came running back very im¬ 
portantly and purring loudly, and the little girl 
clapped her hands with joy to see a tiny fairy 
riding in state on the cat’s back. It was the same 
little fairy Hassan had met in the desert and he 
knew her instantly by the comet and stars he had 
embroidered on her mantle. She smiled very 
graciously and asked what she could do for them. 

“I have an errand to King Oberon,” said the 
tailor, salaaming respectfully, “and I should be 
grateful if you would tell me the way to his 
court.” 

“Nothing is easier,” said the little fairy. “Shut 
your eyes and count seven, and you will be 


30 THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

there.” So saying she spread her wings and flew 
away. 

''Oh, take me with you,” said the little girl, 
so the tailor bade her stand on his slippers and 
hold on to his girdle very tightly, then the cat 
jumped on his master’s shoulder, they all shut 
their eyes while the tailor counted seven, and 
when they opened them again, there they were 
in the very heart of Fairyland. Oh, what a beauti¬ 
ful place it was! Close at hand was a palace 
built of the purest gold, and instead of panes of 
glass the windows were made of precious stones 
which shone like a million rainbows. All round 
them was the loveliest country imaginable, with 
hills and valleys and woods, and streams like 
crystal, while everywhere were crowds and 
crowds of fairies, big fairies, little fairies, boy 
fairies and girl fairies; some dressed in gossamer 
and some dressed in brocade; some singing and 
dancing, and some playing on the harp; you 
never saw such a sight in your life! 

"Oh, what a lovely place!” cried the little girl. 
"Let us all stay here for ever and ever!” 

Just then there was a tremendous fanfare of 
trumpets and King Oberon returned from a boar 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


31 

hunt in the Western Islands where he has exten¬ 
sive dominions. He smiled very pleasantly upon 
the strangers and giving his hand to the little 
girl bade the tailor and his cat follow him into 
his palace. When he was seated he bade them 
say who they were and what they wanted of him. 

“I am the daughter of the Sultan,” said the 
little girl, “and I want to see the world.” 

“It is granted,” said the king. 

“I am Hassan of Constantinople,” said the 
tailor, “and I have an opal which was entrusted 
to me by a gnome of the mountains to deliver to 
your Majesty.” 

“I have heard all about it,” said the king, as he 
took the opal. “You are a trusty fellow and I 
hold you in high favour.” 

“And I belong to my master Hassan,” said the 
cat, “and I ask nothing better than that I should 
belong to him through all the rest of my nine 
lives.” 

“Good puss!” said Oberon. “It shall be as you 
wish. Remain in my dominions for as long as 
you please and you have only to utter a desire for 
it to be satisfied.” 


32 THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

''Oh!” said the little girl. "Let us begin to 
see the world at once.” 

In the twinkling of an eye they were off. They 
met the North Wind, the South Wind, the East 
Wind and the West Wind, visited all their 
palaces and dined with them in state. They flew 
to Egypt and found a gilded barge waiting to 
take them up the Nile, they slept in a palace 
beside the Pyramids, and visited a temple in the 
heart of the desert where dwelt the last of the 
Sacred Cats. They flew across the ocean to the 
islands where the water fairies dwell, where the 
trees are all pink coral and the stones of the beach 
are all pearls. They travelled over the mountains 
on nimble-footed horses and saw the four king¬ 
doms of the dwarfs which none but the fairies 
had ever seen before. They went to the very 
bottom of the sea without wetting so much as 
the hair of their heads and saw the wonderful 
treasures scattered upon the floor of the ocean. 
They went to the icy North and rode upon polar 
bears, and they went to the country where the 
sun never sets and feasted upon ice cream and 
raspberry tarts. And at last they returned to the 
palace of King Oberon, having seen nearly 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


33 

everything there was to see, and the tailor said, 
“O daughter of the Sultan, if you have any wish 
left ungratified, ask it now, for I am a plain man, 
and I long to return to Constantinople where I 
have a piece of business I had forgotten to 
finish.” 

“Yes,” said the little girl. “I should like to 
grow up, have a husband and live happily ever 
after.” 

Instantly she grew up into the most beautiful 
maiden that ever was seen, and at the same 
moment a fairy announced that the prince who 
was to be her husband had arrived with a mag¬ 
nificent cavalcade and was waiting to put the 
ring on her finger. So the tailor gave the bride 
away, the cat held her train and King Oberon 
presented her with a kingdom for her dowry. 
Then the prince and the Sultan’s daughter rode 
away to the land where they were to be happy 
ever after, and the tailor and his cat went to bed. 

Sixth Day: T^he Queen’s Wedding Dress 

When the tailor woke next morning he was in 
his own house in Constantinople and his servant 
was brushing his clothes. “What day of the 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


34 

month is this?’’ said the tailor, and the servant 
replied, ''The fourteenth, master.” 

"Well,” thought the tailor to himself, "I don’t 
know what to think, so I shall say nothing about 
it. But I am a plain man and when I undertake 
to do a thing I like to keep my promise. So I hope 
nothing will occur today to hinder me from 
finishing the Grand Vizier’s breeches.” So he 
stitched away busily all the rest of the day, 
never taking his eyes from his work until it was 
finished, and in the evening he made the breeches 
into a neat parcel and took them down to the 
Grand Vizier’s palace himself. 

As he wag returning through the streets with 
his cat who had accompanied him, a stranger 
stepped up to him and said: "Pray, sir, are you 
Hassan the tailor? Because if you are, I am to 
beg you to come with me on board my ship where 
you will find some very profitable business 
awaiting you.” 

The tailor accompanied the stranger without 
more ado to the quayside, where he found a 
stately ship moored and in the cabin an elderly 
merchant who was awaiting him with great 
anxiety. 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


35 

'‘Honoured sir/’ said the merchant, 'T have 
heard of your skill and entreat your help. Some 
little time ago I was on a voyage to foreign parts 
to purchase fine silks and cloth of gold, when my 
ship was blown right out of her course and I 
found myself among the Enchanted Isles. I 
landed on one of the islands which was inhabited 
by fairy spinners and weavers and they sold me 
a bale of the most wonderful stuff in the whole 
world; it gleams like the rainbow and sparkles 
with gold thread and moreover is softer and 
lighter than thistledown. I sold a piece to the 
Queen of the Great Valley for her wedding dress, 
but none of her people can cut it out and make 
it up. As soon as they touch it with the scissors 
it all falls into little bits and blows away. I have 
given her more stuff and again more, and at last 
I have only a little piece left, just enough for 
a gown and none to spare. The queen vows she 
will be married in that or not at all, and if the 
gown is not soon made my life shall pay for it; 
so I begged permission to obtain the services of 
the most skilful tailor I could find and mean¬ 
while the queen holds my soil as a hostage. What 
say you, sir? Will you help me?’’ 


36 THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

“Willingly, if I can,” said the tailor, “but this 
seems a troublesome business. What say you, 
cat?” 

“Let us go,” said the cat. “These are the 
Fortunate Days and this poor merchant may as 
well share our good luck.” So it was agreed, and 
the ship was soon sailing down the Bosphorus 
and out into the open sea. In a few days they 
arrived at the mouth of a mighty river and made 
their way upstream until they found themselves 
entering the Kingdom of the Great Valley. It 
was a beautiful country and the queen’s city was 
built of white marble and looked fit for King 
Oberon and Queen Mab to hold their court there. 
The ship was quickly moored and the merchant 
made haste to enter the city and embrace his son; 
then he presented Hassan to the queen, who 
commanded that they should be supplied with 
all they required, promising them that if they 
spoiled the dress their heads should fall. 

When they were alone the tailor said: “I do 
not like this lady, and it would serve her right 
if she were never married at all. However, I will 
do what I can for you. Go into the city and buy 
perfectly new scissors and tomorrow we will see 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 37 

what can be done.” So new scissors of the finest 
quality were fetched and the tailor carried them 
into his chamber with all that remained of the 
precious stuff and locked himself in with his cat 
to keep guard. That night neither the tailor nor 
his cat slept a wink and just as day dawned they 
were astonished to see the scissors rise and stand 
on end, then gaily dance all round the room, 
after which they lay down again. 

“The scissors are bewitched and will spoil 
everything they touch,” said Hassan. “Let fresh 
scissors be brought.” So more were fetched and 
the next night the same thing happened. The 
third day the tailor bought the scissors himself, 
carried them home without anyone else touching 
them, locked them in a casket and laid them at 
the bottom of a bowl of water. “Now we shall 
see what we shall see,” he said, as he prepared 
for rest. In the middle of the night he heard a 
little voice saying: “Cat, cat, drink up the water. 
Cat, cat, drink up the water.” And sitting up in 
bed he saw a fairy perched on the edge of the 
bowl, and trying to put a spell on the scissors; 
only the water prevented her. “Cat, cat,” she said 


38 THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

again, ''drink up the water or I will turn you 
into a mouse/’ 

"I assure you, lady,” said the tailor, "that you 
cannot touch my cat, which is under the special 
protection of King Oberon. But if you will tell 
me why you wish to bewitch my scissors, perhaps 
I may be able to serve you.” 

Then said the fairy: "Bold man, you intend 
to make a wedding dress out of the fairy stuff 
for a haughty woman who has presumed to speak 
disrespectfully of the Queen of the Fairies her¬ 
self, wherefore Queen Mab has commanded that 
she shall never wear the dress. Moreover, this 
proud queen is not the rightful ruler of the land. 
The royal nurse stole the true queen away when 
she was a baby and put her own child in the 
cradle, so the present ruler is an impostor and 
the true queen is one of her waiting-maids.” 

Then said Hassan: "Let us make a bargain. If 
you will allow me to make this dress, none but 
the true queen shall wear it; and moreover, I 
swear by my sword that I will turn this false 
queen off the throne.” 

Then said the fairy, "I agree, but woe betide 
you if you fail.” 


‘The cat was making friends with the waiting^ 
maids'^ 








THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


39 

So the next morning Hassan carefully dried 
and polished his scissors, cut up the stuff and was 
soon stitching away for dear life. Meanwhile the 
cat was making friends with the waiting-maids 
and he soon told his master he was sure he had 
discovered the true queen, who was as fair as the 
day and of the sweetest disposition imaginable; 
moreover, she was supposed by all to be the 
daughter of the queen’s old nurse. 

Thereupon the tailor at once sought the queen 
and begged for the services of this waiting-maid, 
which was granted. So the tailor fitted the dress 
upon the young girl, and she looked so beautiful 
in the fairy stuff that he could hardly restrain 
himself from falling on his knees and crying, 
"‘Hail to your Majesty!” However, he bade her 
say nothing and on the eve of the wedding he 
obtained permission for her to watch the wedding 
dress all night with his cat for company, while 
he himself kept guard before the door with his 
drawn sword. 

In the morning the cat told the girl to ask no 
questions but array herself in the gown, which 
she did. Soon messengers arrived bidding the 
tailor bring the gown to the queen’s chamber, but 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


40 

he sent them away with the message, ‘'The queen 
is already dressed.” Then he gave the young girl 
his hand and led her down to the great hall of 
the palace where all the nobles of the land were 
awaiting their mistress. 

“Most noble lords,” said the tailor, “I present 
to you your true queen who was stolen from her 
cradle in her infancy by her nurse who brought 
her up as her own child. And if any man doubts 
it, let the nurse be fetched.” 

So the old nurse was fetched and would have 
denied it, but as she opened her lips a murmur 
arose like the humming of a thousand bees: “This 
is the true queen! This is the true queen!” And 
lo and behold! it was the gold threads in the 
wedding dress all speaking together and the 
sound was like the sound of harp strings. Then 
the old nurse was terrified and confessed her 
fraud; so she and her daughter were bundled out 
of the kingdom, for nobody liked them. 

As for the prince who was to have married the 
false queen, he went back to his own land in 
disgust, and a month later the true queen was 
wedded to a brave knight of great renown who 
had loved her while she was only a waiting-maid. 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 41 

So there was much rejoicing and the cat and his 
master were loaded with honours; the queen 
gave the tailor a magnificent sword and the 
grateful merchant insisted on escorting him back 
to his own land and would have given him his 
ship if he would have accepted it. So they sailed 
away from the Kingdom of the Great Valley 
laden with presents and reached Constantinople 
one evening just at sunset. Then the tailor took 
an affectionate leave of the merchant and he and 
his cat went home and straight to bed. 

Seventh Day: ^he Sword of Honour 

Next morning the tailor was awakened by his 
servant, who brought him his coffee and said, 
“There is a stranger below waiting to speak with 
you, sir.’' 

“Already?” said the tailor. “Why, what day 
of the month in this?” 

“The fifteenth, master,” said the servant, as 
he placed the tailor’s clothes ready to put on. 
“What a magnificent sword you have purchased, 
sir,” he added. 

“I did not buy it,” said the tailor. “It was a 
gift.” Then he dressed hastily, said his prayers. 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


42 

and went to greet his visitor. He found an 
elderly gentleman seated on his best divan strok¬ 
ing the cat, who was purring loudly but saying 
nothing. The tailor and the stranger saluted each 
other with profound salaams, and the tailor 
offered his guest a box of Turkish Delight. Then 
said the stranger: ‘D Hassan, I have heard that 
in your youth you were a man of valour and that 
in your old age you have become a man of wealth 
and discretion. I require just such a person as 
you to undertake a mission of great importance 
and secrecy. Say, will you accept it?” 

'T am a plain man,” said the tailor, ‘‘but I try 
to give satisfaction. What do you wish me to 
do?” 

Then said the stranger: “I am the trusted 
councillor of the King of the Joyous Lands and 
save the king himself no one is of more im¬ 
portance than I. My good fortune is entirely 
owing to a wonderful talisman given me in my 
youth by an old woman who lives among the 
mountains of the north, and she has sent word 
to me that as I cannot possibly advance to greater 
honour than I already hold I am to return her 
talisman by a trusty hand, in order that she may 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


43 

bestow it upon the first person who shows him¬ 
self worthy of her favour. What say you? Will 
you be my messenger?” 

'‘Right willingly,” said the tailor. “I will start 
at once.” So the stranger opened his robe and 
drew forth the talisman which he hung round 
the tailor’s neck, then he gave him a bag of gold 
for his needs, directed him how to find the old 
woman and bade him good speed. So the tailor 
disguised himself as a mendicant, concealed the 
gold in his turban and hid the sword the Queen 
of the Great Valley had given him in the folds of 
his ragged dress. The cat jumped on his shoulder 
and the two set out at once. 

Their way led them northeast for many days 
and at length they reached a great pine forest 
and lay down under the trees to sleep. When 
they awoke next morning they were astounded 
to see a number of wild-looking men squatting 
round them and gazing with great veneration at 
the tailor’s sword which lay beside him, clasped 
in his right hand. As soon as they saw the tailor 
was awake they hastily brought bread and honey 
and bowls of milk, and a special saucer of cream 
for the cat. 


44 the fortunate DAYS 

“Who are you, good peopled” said the tailor. 

“O noble wearer of the Honourable Sword,’’ 
said one of the men, “we are the people of the 
Desolate Plain and our lot is hard. However, 
we have good hope that now we have met with 
you our luck will mend.” 

“How so?” said the tailor. 

“The worst of our misfortunes is that we have 
lost our chieftain, who was wont to lead us 
against our enemies in war, and in peace was a 
mighty hunter and showed us how to provide for 
our wants. But he was decoyed away by a sor¬ 
ceress and chained to a rock with manacles which 
no file can sever.” 

“How then can I serve you?” asked the tailor. 

“Your sword, most noble sir, is a magical 
weapon,” answered the man. “It was forged by 
the northern elves and bears their marks on the 
hilt; moreover, it has power over all things.” 

“Then,” said the tailor, “let us not lose an 
instant but lead me to your chieftain forthwith.” 

Straightway the men arose and placing 
Hassan and his cat in their midst began to run 
northward. Oh, how they ran! The tailor nearly 
dropped with fatigue, nevertheless he struggled 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


45 

on valiantly, his drawn sword in his hand, and 
at nightfall they reached the rock to which the 
chieftain was fettered. The heavy manacles 
round his wrist gleamed with a strange light 
which was the result of the enchantment placed 
on them by the sorceress, and the poor prisoner 
was so wasted away that he looked ready to die. 

“Ha!” said Hassan. “Here is a pretty busi¬ 
ness.” So saying, he smote the manacles on the 
chieftain’s right wrist and the links were in¬ 
stantly severed. But what was his consternation 
when the metal immediately joined together 
again and the links glittered wickedly as though 
they had never been touched! 

Then Hassan smote the manacles on the 
prisoner’s left hand, and the same thing 
happened; whereupon the onlookers gnashed 
their teeth and wrung their hands in despair. 
Then said the cat softly, “Master, hang the 
talisman about his neck and try both manacles 
at once.” So the tailor hung the talisman round 
the chieftain’s neck and bidding him stand well 
away from the rock to which he was chained and 
stretch his arms behind him, he brought down his 
sword with a tremendous blow across both 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


46 

manacles at once, and lo! the links flew into a 
thousand pieces and the chieftain was a free man 
once more. 

‘‘Now, what will you do*?” asked Hassan 
when all had poured out their thanks. 

“Go after that miserable sorceress,” said the 
chieftain, “and destroy her so that she may work 
no more mischief.” 

“Well said,” answered Hassan; “I would I 
could come with you, but I have an errand to 
perform. However, I will give you my sword, 
which is an honourable weapon and worthy of a 
great chieftain; and let us each go our way and 
when we have accomplished our work we will 
meet here again and feast together like brothers.” 

“With all my heart,” said the chieftain, gird¬ 
ing the sword upon him, and restoring the talis¬ 
man to Hassan. So they parted with mutual 
esteem and Hassan and the cat made haste to 
find the old woman in the mountains. They 
reached her house late one snowy evening and 
she took them inside the mountain and enter¬ 
tained them most hospitably. The old woman 
greatly admired the cat and even offered to give 
the tailor the famous talisman if he would leave 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 47 

his cat behind, but he replied, “Not for a thou¬ 
sand talismans!” Whereupon the old woman 
laughed and they spent the evening very cosily 
telling each other tales. The next few days they 
passed examining the treasures in the mountain, 
then the old woman told the tailor it was time 
to depart, as his friend the chieftain would be 
expecting him. “But before you go I have a gift 
for you,” she said. Thereupon she gave him a 
smart pair of shoes made of crimson leather and 
lined with fur. “These will make the ground fly 
under your feet,” she said, then she bade him 
good speed and the tailor and his cat set off. 
What wonderful shoes those were! The tailor’s 
feet scarcely seemed to touch the ground and in 
an incredibly short time he was back at the spot 
where he had parted from the chieftain. He 
found his friend and all his followers eagerly 
expecting him and a great feast prepared. They 
dined on reindeer steak and wild duck prepared 
in a most appetising manner and drank each 
other’s health and sang songs and told tales. The 
chieftain related how he had slain the sorceress 
with the sword of honour and Hassan recounted 
some of his adventures with his cat. When they 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


48 

were all so tired that they could not keep their 
eyes open another second, they rolled themselves J 
up in their cloaks and fell asleep by the camp¬ 
fire. ' 

When the tailor awoke next morning he was in 
his own room at Constantinople and his servant ^ 
was diligently polishing the new red boots. ; 

Eighth Day: The Prince of the Desert 

‘'Good morning, sir,” said the tailor’s servant 
when he saw his master was awake. “This is the 
sixteenth day of the month. May your shadow j 
never grow less!” J 

The tailor at once rose and dressed, putting on 
the new red boots, and then asked for his cat. . ; 
At that moment the cat sprang in at the window 
and they made a good breakfast together. When j 
the meal was ended the tailor said: “Cat, let us i 
have a serious talk. I am a plain man and I 
declare I do not know if I am on my head or M 
my heels. In seven days I have taken long and 
hazardous journeys to Persia, China, the Moon, 
the Kingdom of the Great Valley, the bowels of 
the earth, the mountains of the north, the very 



THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


49 

heart of Fairyland, the bottom of the sea and 
the greater part of the inhabited world and have 
had enough adventures to satisfy seven men for 
all their lives. This is your doing and I consider 
it is time you settled down and gave up gadding 
about."’ 

‘‘Master,” said the cat, “I told you I had nine 
lives. There are but two left; when we come to 
the last it will be time to think of settling down 
and to decide where we will spend it. For the 
present let us take advantage of the Fortunate 
Days and enjoy good luck wherever we find it.” 

“So be it,” said the tailor, “and while the day 
is cool let us stroll through the city and hear the 
news.” So they set off together and made their 
way toward the bazaars where one can always 
hear the latest intelligence. But as they were 
going along the tailor was seized with a most 
unaccountable tingling of the soles of his feet 
which made him start running at such a rate 
that even the cat could not keep up with him. 
“Master, master,” cried the cat, “take me too.” 
The tailor paused an instant to pick up his cat 
then ran on again as though possessed. Soon to 
his horror he found himself approaching the 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


50 

Bosphorus and as it was quite impossible to stop 
he expected as soon as he reached the quayside 
that he would fall into the water and be drowned. 
“Jump, cat, while there is time,” he cried, but 
the cat answered, “No, master, I stay with you. 
Fear nothing.” And at that very moment they 
came to the edge of the quay and instead of fall¬ 
ing into the water as he expected, the tailor found 
himself running through the air with incredible 
swiftness and before he could cry “Snip!” he 
landed safe and sound in Asia Minor. Even there 
he could not stop, but continued running with 
all his might; before evening he had run right 
across Asia Minor and left it behind, he had 
passed Damascus and was heading straight for 
the deserts of Arabia. When the moon began to 
rise they reached an ancient temple in the very 
heart of the desert and there the tailor at last was 
able to stop. He and the cat at once entered the 
temple and lay down to rest; before he fell 
asleep, however, the tailor removed his boots. 
“For,” said he, “ I do not want to begin running 
again before sunrise.” 

In the very middle of the night, however, he 
heard someone calling, “Tailor, tailor, help me 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


51 

or I perish.” He at once sprang up and began to 
search the temple and presently he found a tall 
pillar of white marble standing all by itself in 
a little courtyard which was open to the sky. On 
top of the pillar was the statue of a veiled 
princess, all of marble which shone in the moon¬ 
light. On the statue’s forehead hung a single 
pearl and as the tailor gazed at it the statue 
spoke again. “Tailor, tailor,” it said, “take the 
jewel from my forehead and show it to the Prince 
of the Desert and bid him rescue me! This one 
night of the year am I allowed to speak; when the 
sun rises again I shall be dumb and lifeless.” 
Quick as lightning the tailor made up his mind. 
“Up, cat,” said he, “fetch me the jewel while I 
put on my boots.” The cat did not need twice 
telling, but took an immense spring and was 
halfway up the column in a jiffy; then it stuck 
out all its claws and scratched and crawled its 
way to the top, leaped upon the princess’s 
shoulder and bit off the pearl which was hanging 
on her forehead. By the time the tailor had put 
on his boots the cat had reached the ground again 
with the jewel in its mouth. “Which way must 
I go, lady"?” asked the tailor. “South,” replied 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


52 

the statue, '‘south to the City of Forty Wells/’ 
"Farewell, then!” said the tailor, and without 
stopping for so much as a bite or a sup, ran out 
of the temple and hastened due south. He ran 
and ran and ran, the cat sitting on his shoulder 
still holding the pearl in its mouth. They passed 
caravans of merchants in the desert and cities 
half buried in sand and solitary wells sur¬ 
rounded by a few palm trees and many encamp¬ 
ments of wandering Arabs. Once they were 
chased by a band of armed horsemen, but the 
tailor easily outdistanced them, and by the end 
of the day he reached the City of Forty Wells 
and demanded to see the Prince of the Desert. 
However the people were not willing to admit 
him. "What!” said they. "Do you think any 
dusty vagabond who pleases can speak to the 
prince ?” 

"Very well,” said the tailor. "Then I shall run 
round your city until he himself comes to speak 
to me.” Thereupon he began to run again, round 
and round the walls till the people grew terrified, 
and some said he was a madman and would 
destroy himself and bring disgrace upon the 
city, and others said he was a magician who was 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


53 

putting a spell upon them. Thereupon they all 
with one accord sought out their prince as they 
should have done at the beginning and laid all 
before him. As soon as the prince heard what was 
happening he left his palace, and hastened out 
of the city and placed himself directly in the 
tailor’s path. ‘T am the Prince of the Desert,” he 
said, ‘‘and I would have speech with you.” 

“Most mighty sir,” said the tailor, “behold 
this pearl. The noble lady who wore it bids you 
go to her rescue.” 

“O honourable man!” said the prince. “How 
can I ever atone for the way my people treated 
you? The lady who wore this jewel was to have 
been my wife and she was spirited away by an 
evil genie on the eve of her wedding day and I 
have searched the world for her in vain.” Then 
the tailor told him about the temple in the desert 
and how the princess was turned to stone. 

“Alas!” cried the prince. “There is but one 
creature in the world who could change her back 
to flesh and blood, and that is this very genie who 
changed her into a statue.” 

Then said the cat, “Where does this creature 
dwell?” Thereupon the prince told them that the 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


54 

genie always appeared in the form of a beautiful 
woman and she lived in a solitary palace on the 
shores of the sea. “Come then, master,’’ said the 
cat. “We will seek this genie and if I cannot 
learn how to restore the princess to life I am not 
worthy of my nine lives.” 

Without wasting a single word the tailor 
picked up his cat and started to run across the 
desert so swiftly that in a few seconds they were 
out of sight and the Prince of the Desert was 
disposed to think he had been dreaming. How¬ 
ever, the tailor ran to such good purpose that 
before evening he came in sight of the palace 
of the genie, whereupon he concealed himself 
among the sandhills while the cat went on to the 
palace alone. The genie was sitting upon a pile 
of silken cushions admiring herself in a mirror 
when the cat entered and politely wished her 
“Good evening.” “Where did you learn to talk, 
cat?” said the genie, and she was so pleased with 
him that she bade him sit beside her and caressed 
him most fondly. Then the cat told her all about 
his travels and how he had visited the heart of 
Fairyland, and even been to the bottom of the 
sea, and the genie praised his beauty and his 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


55 

wisdom till he purred aloud with satisfaction. 
When they had talked some time very con¬ 
tentedly the cat said, “Doubtless you also are 
very learned and can do many wonderful 
things?” 

“I can indeed,” said the genie. “I can assume 
any shape it pleases me and I understand the 
transmutation of metals.” 

“Can you soften a heart of stone and turn it 
into flesh and blood?” asked the cat. 

“Nothing is easier,” said the genie. “Here is 
the amulet in which the power resides and you 
may have it to play with.” Thereupon she took 
the amulet from her neck and hung the chain to 
which it was fastened round the cat’s shoulders. 
The cat had a fine game with its new toy and 
frisked and frolicked about the room until the 
genie ached with laughing; then the cat settled 
down on a cushion and pretended to fall asleep, 
and the genie, saying she would be back in a 
couple of days, set out on a journey to the other 
side of the world to visit a friend and boast 
about her new cat. As soon as she was gone the 
cat sprang out of the window and rejoined his 
master, who immediately started to run with 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


56 

all his might. Before next morning they again 
reached the City of the Forty Wells and found 
the Prince of the Desert, who embraced the tailor 
like his brother. 

‘‘Stay for nothing!” cried the tailor. “Take my 
boots and this amulet and rescue your bride be¬ 
fore the genie discovers her loss. I will follow 
with your retinue and a litter for the princess 
as fast as the camels can travel.” The prince 
thanked him profoundly and was soon travelling 
northward to the ancient temple as fast as the 
magical boots could carry him. He had a coil of 
rope on his shoulder and a little food in a wallet 
and nothing else but his trusty sword. He soon 
arrived at the temple and throwing his rope so 
that it caught in the marble flowers sculptured 
round the top of the pillar on which the princess 
was standing, he speedily clambered to the top 
and hung the amulet round the princess’s neck. 
Then to his joy he saw her slowly change into 
flesh and blood, and at last she drew a deep 
breath and cried: “I am saved. Thank you, dear 
prince.” 

He was just about to help her most carefully 
down to the ground when he heard a screech of 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


51 

rage and saw the evil genie standing below. She 
had discovered the loss of the amulet and had 
come as straight as an arrow to the place where 
it was. ‘'Come down and be destroyed,” she cried, 
and instantly assumed the shape of a lion. The 
prince did not wait a second, but dropped to the 
ground and rushed upon the lion with his sword. 
Then began a fight which lasted for three days: 
the prince and the lion fought with the utmost 
fury and at last the prince wounded the beast, 
whereupon it turned into a dragon. The prince 
chopped off one of its paws and nearly cut off 
its head, whereupon it turned into a wolf; and 
so it went on, the genie constantly assuming new 
shapes, and at last the prince grew very weary 
and his arm more and more feeble, and it looked 
as if the genie really would win after all, when 
in the very nick of time the tailor arrived with 
the prince’s retinue and rushed to the rescue. 
Slick! slash! went the tailor’s sword and the 
genie fell dead on the ground. Then they burnt 
the ugly body to make sure it should never do 
any more mischief, and the prince and the 
princess were wedded there and then. The tailor 
and the cat sat in the place of honour at the 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


58 

wedding feast and when night came on they 
retired to a magnificent tent of silken curtains 
which the prince had given them, and stretching 
themselves on their rugs fell fast asleep. 

Ninth Day: The Garden of Felicity 

When the tailor awoke next morning he found 
himself sitting in his own garden in Constan¬ 
tinople. The servant came out of the house and 
said, ‘'This is the seventeenth morning of the 
month and a day of good omen. Will you be 
pleased to breakfast out here?” 

The tailor bade him bring coffee and bread and 
the servant went into the house again. At that 
moment the cat began to purr loudly, and look¬ 
ing round, the tailor saw that a stranger had 
entered the garden and was stroking the cat, who 
greeted him like an old friend. The stranger was 
dressed like a travelling minstrel and at his 
girdle hung two silver keys; when he smiled his 
face was creased with a thousand wrinkles and 
when he spoke his language was so exalted that 
the tailor could hardly understand him. The 
tailor could not make up his mind whether he 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


59 

was young or old, or whether he was very wise 
or a little mad. 

'Triend Hassan,'’ said the stranger, "you 
have been up and down the world, but there is 
still a portion of my dominions which you have 
not entered. Be pleased to come with me and you 
will understand me better.” 

Thereupon he took one of the keys from his 
girdle and fitted it in the lock of a silver door 
which suddenly grew up before him out of no¬ 
where. He motioned to the tailor and his cat to 
pass through and when they obeyed they found 
themselves standing in a valley more beautiful 
than anything they had ever dreamed of, and the 
city of Constantinople nowhere to be seen. The 
stranger stepped after them and carefully locked 
the gate, which immediately vanished, while he 
himself was transformed into a most handsome 
prince. 

"Friend Hassan,” said the Prince of the 
Dreams (for it was he), "this is my Secret King¬ 
dom where I make welcome all who win my 
favour, and where if you please you may live 
happily ever after. Here is a gentleman who 
wishes to make your acquaintance and who will 


6o 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


show you everything you wish to see/’ There¬ 
upon he presented Hassan to a most noble look¬ 
ing man who was standing near at hand and left 
them together. 

‘1 am the Emperor Saladin,” said the tailor’s 
new acquaintance, ''and I am most happy to see 
you here. Let us enter this garden close at hand 
and perhaps you will be so good as to tell me the 
conclusion of your adventures with the Prince of 
the Desert.” 

So they entered the garden and sat down 
upon a bench under some trees while the tailor 
narrated the fortunate termination of the fight 
with the genie and gave an account of the 
wedding. 

"You are a man after my own heart,” said 
Saladin. "It is not everyone who has slain a 
wicked genie. I am, as you know, of considerable 
valour. I have fought with Richard Coeur de Lion 
and am held in esteem by all the champions of 
Christendom, but even I have never had such 
adventures as have befallen you.” 

"It was nothing,” said the tailor. "I am a plain 
man and have always tried to do my best. But 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


6i 


now I shall be heartily glad to settle down and 
rest awhile.” 

‘‘Then you may do so here,” said Saladin, “for 
this is the Garden of Felicity and those who 
come here are the most fortunate beings in the 
world.” 

At that moment the cat sprang upon the 
tailors knee. “Master!” he cried. “This is the 
place for me. I have just met two most distin¬ 
guished cats; one tells me he is the trusted friend 
and servant of the famous knight, Sir Richard 
Whittington, and the other is no less than the 
renowned Puss in Boots. They are waiting to 
conduct me all over this wonderful country; say, 
are you content to dwell here?” 

“With all my heart!” cried the tailor. “Let us 
remain in this beautiful kingdom.” And so it was 
agreed and there they are to this day. 

m * * * * 

Meanwhile the Grand Vizier of Constan¬ 
tinople had been hearing how people said that 
Hassan the tailor was getting on in the world, 
and wearing fine clothes and rings on his fingers 
every day and had even acquired a handsome 


62 THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

new sword. So the Vizier said: ‘'This fellow is 
getting too big in his own estimation. I will have 
him strangled and thrown into the Bosphorus.’' 
Thereupon he sent for the executioners and bade 
them proceed to the tailor’s house. They arrived 
just as the servant was carrying the breakfast 
into the garden and they bade him at once con¬ 
duct them to his master. When they entered the 
garden they saw what they supposed to be the 
tailor sitting cross-legged on a pile of cushions, 
but when they drew near it was nothing but a 
suit of old clothes with a turban on top. 

Then said the executioners: “What shall we 
do? If we let it be known that he has escaped, 
our lives will pay the forfeit.” So they tied the 
clothes into a bundle, put them in a sack with a 
heavy stone and threw them in the Bosphorus. 
Then they returned to the Grand Vizier and 
said, “The tailor is no more.” 

And so said everybody. But you and I know 
better. 


The Enchanted Isle 

THIS is the Island that all men seek 
But few have ever found; 

This is the magical^ golden beach 
And this is enchanted ground. 

Here is the pool where the fairies bathe 
And yonder they dance on the grass; 

And while an invisible harper plays 
A mortars whole life might pass. 

And he might dwell in the magical isle 
And hearken the fairy laughter^ 

And if he were lucky^ might join in the dance 
And live happily ever after. 


The Golden Horseshoe 


O NCE upon a time a pedlar was walk¬ 
ing along the road to market when he 
all but trod upon something bright 
and shining lying in his way, and 
stooping down he found it was a little horseshoe 
made of the finest gold. 

‘‘Here’s a pretty thing and a very pretty 
thing!” he said, and putting it in his pack 
thought no more about it until he reached the 
town and began to display his wares in the 
market place. There it rolled out of the pack with 
the ribbons and laces and at once attracted great 
attention. Everybody wished to know where he 
had got it and when he told how he had found 
it lying on the highway people began to ask what 
person of distinction had recently passed through 
the town, and whether anyone had noticed a 
traveller whose horse was shod with gold. And 
soon there was such a commotion that the Chief 


THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE 


65 

Magistrate sent to enquire about it, so the pedlar 
and his pack were taken to the Town Hall and 
he was made to tell his story all over again. 

‘T do not believe a word of it,’' said the Chief 
Magistrate. ‘Tf any great personage had passed 
through the town I should have been warned 
beforehand so that I might have the bells rung 
and prepare a handsome speech.” As he said this 
he puffed himself up and looked very haughty. 
‘‘More than that, this is no ordinary horseshoe; 
it is too small for the smallest pony that was ever 
seen. It is my belief that it is somebody’s lucky 
charm and you have stolen it. You will go to 
prison until you confess the truth.” 

In vain the unfortunate pedlar protested that 
he was an honest man; he was haled off to prison 
and locked up with a jug of water and a loaf of 
bread and left to his own reflections. And pres¬ 
ently night came on, and as he sat in the pitch 
dark two tears rolled down his cheeks as he 
thought of his hopeless case. 

“Whatever shall I do,” he said, “if they never 
let me out? I shall stay here until I am quite an 
old man and one day I shall die and be buried in 
the prison yard.” 


66 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


And just as he said this he saw a light shining 
through the keyhole and presently the door was 
unlocked and the gaoler’s daughter appeared 
with a lantern in one hand and his pack in the 
other. 

‘‘Do not speak a word,” she whispered, “but 
muffle yourself up in your cloak and follow me.” 

The pedlar did as she bade him and without 
another word she led him up a flight of steps, 
down a long passage and unlocked another door. 
Quite dumbfounded, the pedlar stepped out into 
the street and found himself a free man. 

“Here are your pack and your horseshoe,” said 
the girl. “Now I should advise you to get out of 
this town as quickly as you can while everyone is 
fast asleep in bed.” 

The pedlar did not wait to be told twice. 
Hastily thanking his rescuer, he took to his heels 
and ran for his life, nor did he rest until he found 
himself once more upon the highway near the 
spot where he had found the golden horseshoe. 

“Unlucky thing!” he cried, “I will be rid of 
you. Here goes!” And with that he threw it from 
him with all his might and it fell in the roadway 
far behind him with a little tinkling sound and 


without another word she led him up a flight 

of steps'' 












THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE 67 

rolled into the ditch. Then he made off and was 
never seen in those parts again. 

Now it happened that another wayfarer had 
been passing along that road when night fell, 
and being still far from the town had rolled him¬ 
self in his old cloak and lain down in the ditch, 
which was dry and full of old leaves and soft 
fern. 'T shall do famously here,” he said, and was 
soon fast asleep. In the morning he was awak¬ 
ened by something cold resting against his cheek, 
and lo and behold! it was a little golden horse¬ 
shoe. 

‘'Here’s a pretty thing and a very pretty 
thing,” he said. “Now I wonder who is the owner 
of this pretty thing.” While he was speaking he 
was turning it over in his hand and noticing how 
beautifully it was made and how wonderfully 
small. 

“Some great personage must have driven past 
in the night and now is probably having great 
trouble to get a new shoe for the horse, for I 
doubt if the blacksmiths about here are accus¬ 
tomed to make things like this. Perhaps it is some 
fairy princess. I will hurry after her and restore 
the shoe, and who knows, she may give me a piece 


68 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


of silver for my trouble.” Saying this, the travel¬ 
ler scrambled out of the ditch and set off towards 
the town. He was quite a young man and was 
seeking his fortune; also he was very strong and 
brave and handsome, and so long as his old father 
and mother were pleased with him, he did not 
care a button for anybody. 

When he reached the town he found every¬ 
thing in an uproar. The escape of the pedlar had 
been discovered and the Chief Magistrate was 
very angry and declared he would make an 
example of the gaoler and his daughter. Every¬ 
body was talking at the top of his voice and no¬ 
body was attending to business, and the young 
man had the greatest difficulty in inducing the 
blacksmith to pay the slightest attention to him. 
At last he managed to ask him whether any great 
personage had visited him desiring to have his 
horse shod, and showed him the horseshoe. 

‘'Upon my life!” shouted the blacksmith; 
“here is another of them. Come, you rascal, there 
is a rod in pickle for you and you shall not escape 
so easily as your brother.” 

So saying, the blacksmith flung himself upon 
the young man and with the help of the by- 


THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE 


69 

standers bore him, struggling furiously, to the 
Town Hall, where the Chief Magistrate was just 
condemning the gaoler and his daughter to be 
shut up in prison for the rest of their lives. 

‘‘What is all this uproar?” said the Chief 
Magistrate angrily. 

“If it please your worship,” said the black¬ 
smith, “here is another of these rascals with a 
golden horseshoe. Depend upon it, they are a 
band of robbers who have waylaid some wealthy 
traveller and taken the very shoes off the horses’ 
feet.” 

“Silence, fellow!” commanded the Magistrate. 
“Have I not said that no horse could wear so 
small a shoe ? Hold your tongue while I examine 
the prisoner. Now, rascal,” said the magistrate, 
“what have you to say for yourself?” 

“I am not a rascal,” said the young man. “I 
found the shoe lying by the roadside and came 
to restore it to the owner. But it seems that all 
the people in this town are mad. I wish I were a 
thousand miles away.” 

The very instant he said these words, he shot 
violently from the ground, right through the 
ceiling and was carried swiftly through the air 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


70 

he knew not whither. A few seconds later he 
found himself in the middle of an immense 
desert; as far as the eye could see was golden 
sand and it was very hot, but near by were a few 
palm trees and a well, and a caravan of mer¬ 
chants were loading up their camels with bales of 
merchandise ready for a long journey across the 
desert. The young man approached the eldest 
merchant, who immediately prostrated himself. 

‘'What is your will, my lord?’" said the mer¬ 
chant. 

“What is the name of this place?” asked the 
young man. 

“This is the Sahara, my lord,” answered the 
merchant. 

“Can you give me something to drink?” said 
the young man, for he was very thirsty after his 
journey through the air. The merchant at once 
arose and brought a cup of gold encrusted with 
jewels which he filled with wine from a leather 
bottle; then he brought dried grapes and figs and 
some little cakes and begged the young man to 
make a good meal. “And as for the cup,” he said, 
“I beg your lordship to accept it, though it is 
unworthy of so mighty a magician.” 


THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE 71 

‘T can never be sufficiently obliged to you,” 
said the young man as he put the cup in his 
wallet. ‘‘But now I must take leave of you, for 
I must try to do something for that unfortunate 
gaoler and his daughter who seem to be the only 
sane people in the town. I wish myself back 
where I came from.” 

As he spoke he found himself once more 
carried swiftly through the air and a few seconds 
later he was back again in the Town Hall, rather 
out of breath but still grasping the golden horse¬ 
shoe. The townspeople were still talking at the 
top of their voices and had not troubled to re¬ 
move the gaoler and his daughter, who were 
standing in the middle of the court with fetters 
on their wrists and tears running down their 
cheeks. 

“One at a time is as much as I can manage,” 
said the young man as he felled the blacksmith 
with a well-directed blow. The others were too 
amazed at his sudden reappearance to oppose 
him and he seized the girl in his arms and said, 
“I wish myself twenty miles back on the road.” 
Immediately they were both carried through the 
ceiling and through the air with incredible swift- 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


72 

ness and a second later found themselves twenty 
miles from the town on the same high road that 
the young man had passed along the evening 
before. He quickly hid the girl in a little wood 
close by and wished himself back in the Town 
Hall; there he seized hold of the old father, 
wished himself back in the wood and in a trice 
they were there with the gaoler’s daughter, all 
very much out of breath but not a little pleased 
at such a fortunate turn of affairs. 

''But, dear me!” said the young man, "you 
cannot go about with fetters on your wrists; you 
will be taken for escaped felons. I have it! Those 
who make trouble must expect trouble. Wait 
here for me and I will fetch the blacksmith.” 

No sooner said than done. The young man 
wished himself at the blacksmith’s forge in the 
town and he reached it at the very moment the 
blacksmith was sitting down to dinner. There 
was a beautiful pie on the table and a crusty loaf 
and many good things to eat. 

"I must trouble you to bring half a loaf and a 
file with you,” said the young man, "or I shall be 
obliged to knock you down again.” And the 
blacksmith having put his file and the bread in 


THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE 


73 

his wallet the young man seized him by the collar 
and cried: ‘‘Off we go. I wish myself back in the 
wood.’’ 

So the blacksmith was whirled away through 
the air and landed with a bump in the wood. 
There he was set to work to file the fetters from 
the prisoners’ wrists while the young man fed 
them with pieces of bread and a few dates he had 
saved from his short visit to the desert; and when 
both the gaoler and his daughter were free, the 
young man carried the blacksmith back to the 
town the same way he had brought him. “It 
would have served you right to have had to walk 
home,” he said, “but I am beholden to you for 
half a loaf of bread so I have done this much 
for you.” Then he wished himself back in the 
wood. 

There he bade farewell to the gaoler and his 
daughter and recommended them to go their 
ways into the world with all speed and not linger 
near the town lest they be retaken. “For myself,” 
he said, “I have still to find the rightful owners 
of the golden horseshoe and restore it to them.” 
So they thanked him and went their way down 
the high road, and after a while they overtook 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


74 

the pedlar who had been the first to find the 
horseshoe and told him what had happened. 
Then he was sorry he had thrown away his luck, 
but it was now too late to do anything, so they 
all trudged on together. And when they reached 
the pedlar’s country he asked the girl to marry 
him and she consented, so they settled down very 
comfortably and opened a shop where they sold 
gingerbread and candy. 

Meanwhile the young man had turned back 
toward the town where his adventures began, 
and when he reached the spot where he had slept 
the night before, he entered the woods by the 
side of the road and searched very carefully. 
"Tor,” said he, ""none of those mad people 
seemed to have heard of any traveller whose 
horse had cast a golden shoe. It may be the 
owner has taken refuge in the woods while she 
considers what to do.” For he was quite sure in 
his own mind that the owner was a fairy princess. 
However, he found nothing, though he searched 
till it was dark and the moon came out; at last he 
had to give up and sat down in a little glade to 
make his supper of the remains of the loaf and 
a few berries. All at once he heard a jingle of 


THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE 


75 

little bells and starting to his feet he saw a 
beautiful little milk-white horse with bells on 
its bridle cantering down the glade. It had a long 
tail and a silky mane and it shone in the moon¬ 
light like silver, but most wonderful of all, it had 
two white wings growing from its shoulders. 

“You beautiful creature,” said the young 
man, “come here and let me see if you have lost 
a shoe.” At first it would not allow the young 
man to approach and he greatly feared it would 
spread its wings and disappear from his sight, 
but after a while it allowed itself to be coaxed, 
and the young man patted and fondled it and 
soon saw that one of its little golden shoes was 
missing. 

“Where is your mistress, you pretty crea¬ 
ture?” said the young man, but it could not reply 
and only dropped its muzzle into his hand and 
stood quite quietly. “Well, I am going to get 
you shod,” said the young man. “That is the first 
thing to be done.” So he tied the little horse up 
by its bridle and wished himself at the black¬ 
smith’s in the town once more. The blacksmith 
was in bed but the young man soon had him up 
and dressed and bade him get his tools, for he 


76 THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

had found the horse that wore the golden horse¬ 
shoe. 

‘‘That is all very well,” grumbled the black¬ 
smith. ‘‘But a golden shoe means golden nails 
and where do you suppose I am to find golden 
nails at this time of night?” 

“You can come and see the horse,” said the 
young man, seizing the blacksmith by the collar, 
“and then you can come back and make the 
nails.” 

So off they flew to the glade in the wood where 
the little horse was waiting for them. As the 
young man patted it, it threw up its head and all 
the little bells on its bridle rang merrily. “This 
is a strange kind of horse,” said the blacksmith, 
“and you are a strange young man.” However, 
he took a good look at the horse’s hoof and 
calculated how large to make the nails, then they 
flew back to the forge. While the blacksmith was 
blowing up the fire the young man took the 
merchant’s cup from his pocket and picked the 
jewels from their sockets with the point of his 
knife; then he gave the cup to the blacksmith and 
bade him make the nails of that. So the black¬ 
smith hammered and filed and hammered and 


THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE 


77 


filed and soon had seven golden nails ready. 
Then they flew back to the woods again and by 
morning the wonderful horse was properly shod 
once more. 

‘'This time I am afraid you will really have 
to walk back to the town,” said the young man, 
“as I cannot even spare the time to fly there with 
you and back again. However, here is a little 
diamond for your trouble and I will not fetch 
you out of bed again.” So the blacksmith trudged 
back to the town and the young man considered 
what he should do now he could no longer take 
the horseshoe in his hand and just wish himself 
wherever he pleased. 

He thought a long time without coming to any 
conclusion; at last it occurred to him that the 
wonderful horse could find its way home to its 
own stable and there he would learn who was its 
rightful owner and gain some idea of what was 
best to be done. “Do you think you could bear 
me on your back, you beautiful creature?” he 
said. “You are small, but you look strong and I 
am sure you have wonderful powers. Let us try.” 
So he led the horse out on to the highway and 
got carefully into the saddle, and it really was 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


78 

extraordinary, but when he thrust his foot into 
the stirrup he did not feel a bit too big for his 
steed but, on the contrary, horse and rider were 
as comfortable as though made for one another. 
''Now,” said the young man, giving the bridle 
a little shake so that all the bells rang, "find your 
way home. Trot!” 

The white horse obediently trotted a few 
steps, then suddenly it unfurled its wings with a 
whirring sound and rose swiftly in the air. High 
up flew the young man and his fairy steed, among 
the clouds and over the mountains, not as when 
he made his visit to the desert, but so that he 
could see the countries he was passing over. 
However, he feared to look down lest he should 
turn giddy and at last he laid his head down on 
the horse’s mane and went fast asleep. When he 
awoke they had returned to earth again and were 
just riding in at the gates of a mighty palace. 
Soldiers presented arms, heralds sounded their 
trumpets, servants ran out of the palace and 
hastily spread silken carpets before him, and the 
king and queen themselves came down the steps 
into the courtyard to welcome the horse and its 
rider. 


THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE 


79 

''Our child has returned/’ they said, but what 
was their amazement when they beheld the 
young man. 

'‘Speak, sir!” cried the king; "who are you?” 

The young man had leapt from the saddle and 
bent his knee. "Sire,” he cried, "I am a poor 
youth, but I fear nothing. Tell me who is the 
owner of this horse, and if aught has befallen her 
I will search the world and take no rest till I have 
restored her unto you.” 

"Alas, young sir!” cried the queen. "Have you 
not seen our daughter?” 

"Nay, madam,” said the young man, and there 
and then he told her how he had found first the 
golden horseshoe and, after many adventures, 
the little horse wandering in the forest without a 
rider. 

"This is terrible!” said the king. "Know, 
young sir, that the fairy steed was given to our 
only daughter by Queen Mab herself, whose god¬ 
daughter she is. Once every year she mounts the 
winged horse and is carried right away into the 
heart of Fairyland on a visit to her fairy god¬ 
mother. There she remains seven days nor has she 
ever failed to return bearing the Queen’s gift. 


8 o THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

But now I fear she is lost!” And he wrung his 
hands. 

'‘Do not despair,” cried the young man. "It is 
quite plain what must be done. I will to Queen 
Mab herself; if the princess is with her, all is 
well. If not, the Fairy Queen will tell me where 
to find her and I will assuredly bring her back.” 
Then he rose, swiftly regained the saddle and 
shaking the bridle so that all the little bells rang, 
cried, "Hey for Fairyland!” At the word the 
wonderful horse again unfurled its wings and 
rose in the air; the young man took off his hat 
and waved it to the people below, the king cried 
good luck to him, the queen fluttered her hand¬ 
kerchief and all the people cheered. "This time,” 
said the young man to himself, "I will keep 
awake and see where I am going,” for he thought 
it would be a fine thing to be able to find his way 
again even if he had to walk there and back; 
however, in a very little while he began to feel 
unaccountably drowsy and laying his head on 
the horse’s mane soon fell fast asleep. 

When he awoke he was in the very heart of 
Fairyland. 

It was the most beautiful country he had ever 


THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE 8i 

seen. The little horse had come down to drink 
from one of the streams which water the land 
and the young man slipped from the saddle and 
wandered slowly by the banks with the bridle in 
his hands, admiring all he saw and wondering 
how he should find Queen Mab. And it seemed 
that he had only to think of a flower he would 
like to see and immediately thousands blossomed 
around him. Did he wish for violets, there they 
were, blue and white, at his very feet. He 
thought of water-lilies, and a pool of water close 
at hand was instantly covered with them. ‘‘Roses 
are the flowers for me,” said the young man and 
before his very eyes a green shoot pushed its way 
out of the ground, grew tall and graceful, put 
forth leaves and buds, and burst into hundreds 
of blossoms which filled the air with their per¬ 
fume. The young man caressed their rosy petals, 
then called to the little horse which was con¬ 
tentedly cropping the tender grass. “Come,” 
said he, “we are wasting time; we must find the 
Queen.” As he spoke he heard the sound of the 
most wonderful music in the forest near at hand. 

“Oh, what is that?” he cried. 

“Those are Queen Mab’s horns,” said a voice 


82 THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

at his elbow, and looking round he saw a little 
fellow dressed in a green jerkin, who looked at 
him with a cheeky smile. 

“Why, where did you spring from?” said the 
young man. “You were not here a moment ago!” 

“Fve been here all the time,” said the little 
fellow. “So have we all.” And sure enough, as 
the young man looked around he was astonished 
to see hundreds of little elves and maidens in 
green jerkins and robes of gossamer marshalling 
themselves in ranks to see the Queen pass. All 
the time the wonderful music was drawing 
nearer and presently out of the trees stepped 
Queen Mab’s trumpeters blowing upon their 
silver horns and making the most entrancing 
melodies. Next came a troop of fairy knights and 
then Queen Mab’s maidens dressed in all the 
colours of the rainbow and dancing hand in hand 
as they passed; and in the middle of them all 
was Queen Mab herself. Her coach was made 
like a golden dandelion with a canopy of green 
leaves and it was drawn by a cloud of blue 
butterflies harnessed with threads of silver spun 
by a big silver spider. 

The young man stepped forward and fell on 


THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE 


83 

his knees. ‘‘How now, mortal!"’ cried the Fairy 
Queen. “How came you hither and what is your 
errand to us?” 

“Most noble lady,” answered the young man, 
“your god-daughter is lost and I have found her 
steed, which brought me hither. I have come to 
beg that by means of your wisdom you will find 
out where she is imprisoned and I will immedi¬ 
ately go to her rescue.” 

“And so you shall!” cried her Majesty. “I see 
you are a lad of spirit, and though you might 
very well leave me to rescue my own god¬ 
daughter in my own time without any trouble 
at all, you shall have your own way. Fairies, 
bring me the sword of exceeding sharpness.” 

At once a score of fairies flew to do her bidding 
and returned bearing a wonderful sword in a 
scabbard of gold attached to a belt studded with 
jewels. At Queen Mab’s command the young 
man girded it on himself, then mounted the 
winged horse once more. The Fairy Queen left 
her chariot and seated herself on the horse’s head 
and away they went through the air again. The 
young man did not go to sleep this time, but it 
was not of much consequence, for as all the world 


84 THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

knows the way out of Fairyland is quite easy; it 
is the way in which is so hard to find. 

In a very short while, however, he saw they 
were flying over a desolate heath and in the very 
middle of the heath was a strong tower where 
an ogre lived. The horse came to the ground a 
short distance from the one door into the tower 
and Queen Mab floated from her seat on the 
horse’s head and took the bridle from the young 
man’s hand. “Into the tower with you, young 
sir!” she commanded. “And do not return with¬ 
out my god-daughter.” 

The young man did not wait to be told twice. 
Drawing his weapon he strode to the door and 
knocked with the hilt of his sword. Immediately 
the door burst open and a dog with three heads 
flew out ready to tear him in pieces; the young 
man cut off the three heads with one blow of his 
sword and rushed into the tower without more 
ado. There he was set upon by a band of stout 
minions, but he knocked them all on the head 
one after the other and went in search of the 
ogre, whom he soon encountered. He was the 
most horrible sight the young man had ever seen, 
covered all over with hair, with teeth like a wolf 


THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE 85 

and with finger-nails like the talons of an eagle. 
He had a huge battle-axe in his hands and was 
roaring with fury. '‘Do not suppose I am afraid 
of you,” said the young man. 'T have slain your 
dog and overthrown your minions and I will soon 
dispose of you also!” And he was as good as his 
word; with one blow of his sword he knocked the 
battle-axe out of the ogre’s hands and with the 
next he cut off his head; so that was the end of 
him. 

"Now to find the princess!” cried the young 
man, dashing up the stair of the tower. He looked 
in all the rooms and at the very top he found 
her. She was lying on the bare floor fast asleep, 
for she was quite worn out with weeping; one 
end of a heavy chain was fastened to her wrist 
and the other end was secured to a ring in the 
wall. The young man drew the sword of exceed¬ 
ing sharpness and with a single blow he severed 
the chain as though it had been a piece of cotton; 
then he lifted the princess very carefully and 
carried her downstairs and out of the horrible 
tower to Queen Mab. 

"Wake up, ladybird,” said Queen Mab, and 
the princess woke up, and who can describe her 


86 THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

joy at finding herself free*? As for the young 
man, he thought he had never in his life seen 
anybody so beautiful as the princess, not even 
Queen Mab herself. 

''Up into the saddle with you,” said her 
Majesty. "The winged horse will carry you 
both.” And certainly it was the most wonderful 
horse in the world, for it made no bones about 
the double load, nor did it seem too small, but 
just the right size. So Queen Mab gave the bridle 
a little shake and immediately they rose in the 
air. 

"Now, child,” said the Queen, "tell me how 
you came to lose your way to Fairyland and fall 
into the clutches of this horrible ogre.” 

"Godmother,” said the princess, "as I was 
flying through the air I beheld a poor lame child 
limping along the highway, and though it is your 
command that when once I have mounted the 
fairy horse to visit you I must not break my 
journey, I was so moved with pity that I dis¬ 
obeyed you. I guided the horse to earth and per¬ 
suaded the child to mount with me, and together 
we cantered along the road until we reached the 
cottage where she dwelt. But when I had bidden 


THE GOLDEN HORSESHOE 87 

her farewell I discovered that my horse had cast 
one of its golden shoes; then I was perplexed, for 
I did not like to present myself before you with 
my steed in such a condition nor did I know 
where to get it shod. So I rode a little way into 
the woods close at hand while I pondered what 
to do and there I was immediately pounced upon 
by the ogre. The fairy horse escaped but I was 
borne off and cast into chains, nor do I know now 
why I was not devoured a week ago.’’ 

‘T can tell you,” said Queen Mab. ‘T knew 
instantly that you were in trouble, but I was at 
the time much occupied with another of my god¬ 
children who was in even worse straits. So I 
looked in my magic mirror and saw where you 
were, and without more ado I bestowed such a 
toothache upon your captor that it was out of 
the question for him to think of devouring any¬ 
thing. And by the time I was able to give my 
whole attention to you this young man had begun 
meddling in your affairs with such good will that 
I thought it best to let him have his own way. 
And now here we are at your own palace and 
below me I espy your father and mother coming 
out to greet us.” 


88 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


It was indeed as Queen Mab said. Hardly had 
she spoken when the wonderful horse floated to 
earth and there they were all safe and sound in 
the courtyard of the palace. 

‘'Greeting to my royal brother and sister/' 
said Queen Mab. “Here is your daughter, none 
the worse for her adventure, and here is a fine 
brave young son-in-law for you. I am much 
pleased with him and I have bestowed the sword 
of exceeding sharpness upon him as a sign of 
my favour." 

Thereupon the king and queen kissed her 
hands and said, “We are content." And the 
poeple threw their caps in the air and shouted: 
“Hurray! We are content." And the princess 
and the young man joined their hands and said, 
“We are content." And there was really nobody 
else left who mattered. So they were married 
with great rejoicing and lived happily ever after. 

And once every year the princess and her 
husband mount the wonderful horse and flyaway 
into the very heart of Fairyland and they have 
never lost their way and always come back 
safely. 


Under the Ground 

A HUNDRED steps below the ground 
A hidden treasure will be found; 

If you pursue the winding stair 
A sleeping princess you'll see there. 

Another hundred steps descend^ 

Tou shall have riches without end., 

But when you reach the bottom stair 
Tou'll find a dragon in his lair. 

Cut off his head and do not bide; 

Make haste to wake your royal bride; 

Bill up your pockets., then run up the stair 
Back to the sun and the good fresh air. 


The Castle of Delight 

O NCE upon a time a company of travel¬ 
lers were going along a road when 
night came on while they were still 
far from the town. Moreover, there 
was not so much as a cottage to be seen where 
they might rest and find a crust of bread to re¬ 
fresh them. So it was resolved to enter the woods 
close at hand and to pass the night as best they 
could, wrapped in their cloaks. 

One of them, however, said: '‘Let all of you do 
as you have decided; I for my part will go a little 
further along the road. When I was a boy there 
was great talk of a castle hereabouts which was 
said to be very hospitable to travellers. If I find 
it, I will send word back to you.” So he bade 
them farewell and stepped boldly down the road. 

He kept a good look-out and was soon re¬ 
warded by seeing two twinkling lights, and on 
running thither, found them to be shining from 


THE CASTLE OF DELIGHT 


91 

the postern gate of a mighty castle. He sprang 
across the drawbridge and banged upon the door, 
which was immediately opened to him. 

‘'What do you want?” said the warder. 

“Rest and entertainment for the night,” said 
the man. 

“Come in and be welcome,” said the warder, 
and at once took him into a large hall where a 
great fire was burning, and called one to wait 
upon him. The servitor hastily spread a table and 
cut him a large slice of venison pasty and a piece 
of the finest white bread, and when the traveller 
was thoroughly warmed and fed, asked him if 
there was ought else he required. The man had 
forgotten all about his travelling companions, 
so he replied that he wanted nothing more but 
a bed; thereupon the servitor showed him his 
sleeping chamber and the man immediately fell 
fast asleep. 

In the morning when he awoke he was as¬ 
tonished to find himself lying under a furze bush 
in the midst of a barren heath and no sign of a 
castle anywhere to be seen. He rubbed his eyes 
and concluded it was all a dream, and as it would 
have been very troublesome to go back and look 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


92 

for his travelling companions, he continued his 
journey alone and was never heard of any more. 

Meanwhile the rest of the travellers had 
passed a very miserable night. It was both cold 
and wet and when day dawned they were in a 
pitiable state; moreover, one of the company, an 
old merchant, had fallen sick and could not stir 
hand or foot. They were ready to despair when 
a young travelling musician who was seeking 
his fortune spoke up and said: ''Bide here one 
day more and I will go in search of help. Now 
day is come it should be easy to find this castle, 
but if I do not succeed I will return at nightfall. 
So if you do not see me again you will know some 
evil has befallen me, and you must push on and 
fend for yourselves as best you can.” So they 
bade him good speed and he hastened down the 
road. 

He searched and searched, but no sign could 
he see of even the humblest habitation, and at 
nightfall he was forced to retrace his steps, 
lamenting his bad fortune. All of a sudden he 
was astounded to see two lights twinkling quite 
close at hand and to discover that they belonged 
to the postern gate of a mighty castle. 



''All of a sudden he was astounded to see two 
lights twinkling quite close at hand” 




/ 


/ 


1 


i 









THE CASTLE OF DELIGHT 


93 

'T must be bewitched!” he cried. ‘'There was 
certainly no castle here when I passed along the 
road this morning.” However, he hastened across 
the drawbridge and banged upon the door. 

“What do you want?” said the warder who 
opened to him. 

“There is a company of poor travellers perish¬ 
ing of cold and hunger in the woods,” said the 
young man. “Send help, I beg of you, and I will 
guide you to the place where they are.” 

“You may come in yourself and be welcome, 
and your friends also,” said the warder. “But no 
one that is here may set foot outside the gate nor 
may anything whatever be taken away. Be ad¬ 
vised, come in, rest and be thankful.” 

“What?” cried the young man. “Leave my 
friends to perish? Nay, I should be disgraced for 
ever. Keep a good light burning, master warder, 
and I will seek out my companions and guide 
them hither.” 

“Then hasten all you may,” said the warder, 
“for if you delay, at midnight the doors will be 
locked and none may enter.” 

So the young man ran back to the road and 
hurried to find his companions. He had the great- 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


94 

est difficulty in the world, for it was pitch dark 
and the road was rough. At last when he almost 
despaired he heard a shout and soon found them 
huddled together very miserably by the road¬ 
side. Then he told them his news and set out to 
guide them back, but the old merchant was so 
sick they could not move quickly, and the young 
man was afraid the gates would be closed before 
they could reach them. So he bade those who 
were able to hasten on and keep a sharp look-out 
for two twinkling lights, and he would follow 
slowly with the old merchant, and this they did 
and reached the castle in safety. It was nearly 
midnight, however, when the young man and his 
sick companion came in sight of the postern, and 
the warder was looking anxiously forth and cry¬ 
ing, '‘Hasten! Hasten!” Then the young man 
took the old merchant on his back and began to 
run, and he crossed the drawbridge and the 
warder reached out and pulled him through the 
postern gate just as it struck midnight, and the 
door shut behind him of its own accord. 

When he entered the hall, he found all his 
companions had been provided with dry raiment 
and were feasting and making merry. Two serv- 


THE CASTLE OF DELIGHT 


95 

ing-men immediately ran forward and carried 
the old merchant off to bed, where he was tended 
with the utmost kindness, while the seneschal of 
the castle bowed to the young man and greeted 
him with the greatest consideration. 

‘Tf I mistake not,” said the seneschal, ''you 
are the gentleman we have been expecting. Be 
pleased to come with me.” 

The young man protested he was only a poor 
musician, but the seneschal did not appear to 
hear, so he followed him into a splendid apart¬ 
ment, hung with cloth of gold and fitted with 
every imaginable convenience. A page came run¬ 
ning with a goblet of crystal filled with a 
sparkling cordial which he presented on bended 
knee, and when the young man had drained the 
last drop he forgot that he had ever felt cold or 
tired or hungry in his life. Two servants then 
came and brought him water to wash and 
stripped off his old clothes and arrayed him in 
a complete suit of the richest apparel he had ever 
seen, and when all was done the seneschal bowed 
very low and informed him that the whole castle 
was at his disposal. Everyone then withdrew 


96 THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

with the utmost courtesy and left the young man 
alone. 

'This is the most extraordinary thing I ever 
heard of/’ said the young man, and he pinched 
himself to make sure that he was not dreaming. 
However, he seemed quite wide awake, so he 
began to look round him and to examine the 
apartment with the greatest interest. Presently 
he noticed that in one corner the golden curtains 
which covered all the rest of the wall were 
looped slightly back and going thither he found 
a small door of massive oak. The key was in the 
door, so he turned it and went through, and 
immediately found himself in a lofty chamber 
which was filled with strains of the softest music. 
The young man could see no musicians, so he 
listened very attentively in the hope of discover¬ 
ing whence the music came and presently he 
thought he could distinguish words as though 
someone were singing very softly. So then he 
listened harder than ever and sure enough a 
voice repeated: 

"Come, play me, 

I pray thee!” 


THE CASTLE OF DELIGHT 


97 

“Who are you and where are you?” said the 
young man, but the voice only sang more 
sweetly : 

‘'Come, play me, 

I pray thee!” 

So he began to search the chamber carefully and 
before long he discovered a golden harp hanging 
on the wall and the voice came out of the harp 
and it was sweeter than a nightingale’s and 
gentle as a dove’s. The young man lifted down 
the harp from the wall and seating himself on 
a low stool began to play; immediately the 
chamber was filled with the most entrancing 
melody and the voice of the harp sang more 
beautifully than ever: 

“Master, search the castle through. 

All that’s here belongs to you. 

If you be brave and strong. 

If you’re not, at break of day 
All of this will fade away 
As fades away my song.” 

Then there was silence, but the young man swept 
his hand once more across the strings and said, 
“Sing on, dear harp,” and the harp sang: 


98 THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

‘‘Like the jewel in the casket, 

Like the peach within the basket, 

Here there lurks a treasure. 

Find and keep it if you can; 

If you prove yourself a man. 

All must do your pleasure.” 

Again there was silence, but the young man 
swept his fingers once more across the strings and 
said, '‘Sing on, dear harp,” and the harp sang: 

“Let no living mortal wight. 

Be she lady, be he knight. 

Treat you with disdain. 

If with joy you’d fill your cup. 

Boldly take the challenge up 
And give it back again.” 

“Excellent and sound advice,” said the young 
man, slinging the harp upon his shoulder. “Now 
to find this treasure and make my fortune.” So 
saying he hastened from the chamber, along a 
magnificent picture gallery and found himself 
at the foot of the principal staircase of the castle. 
There was no time to be lost, so he bounded up 


THE CASTLE OF DELIGHT 


99 

the stairs and found himself in another gallery 
with vast corridors to the right and left leading 
to various apartments, and immediately in front 
of him was a massive door of ebony and silver. 

‘T have always found that the kernel of the 
nut is in the centre,’" said the young man, ‘'so I 
will waste no time to right or left.” Thereupon 
he opened the door in front of him and found 
himself in an antechamber lit by a single lamp. 
Before him was another door of ebony and over 
it was inscribed in silver: 

“He who would win the pearl must first open 
the oyster.” 

“No sooner said than done,” said the young man, 
and opened the second door and went through. 
He found himself in a vast and beautiful 
chamber entirely hung with cloth of silver and 
lit with a number of lamps each made of a single 
opal. In the centre of the room was a low couch 
spread with the skins of the white fox, and lying 
on the rugs was the most beautiful lady the 
young man had ever seen. She was fast asleep 
and four waiting-maids were seated beside her, 
two at the head and two at the feet. Round the 


100 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


walls of the room were inscribed the words, 
‘‘Behold the pearl within the oyster/’ 

The young man drew near and knelt beside 
the couch, and as he did so he saw that the lady 
was muttering to herself in her sleep and two 
tears forced themselves between her eyelids and 
rolled down her cheeks. 

“Poor lady,” he said; then he turned to the 
maids and asked: “Why do you not wake your 
mistress? Do you not see she is in trouble?” 

“She is dreaming of all that is happening in 
the world,” said one of the maids, “and it is as 
much as our lives are worth to awaken her.” 

“Say you so?” said the young man. “Well, I 
will awaken her myself.” Thereupon he took the 
harp from his shoulder and began to play a merry 
tune. Immediately the lady ceased muttering 
and slowly opened her eyes, then she raised her¬ 
self on the couch and stared at the young man. 

“Unmannerly bumpkin!” she said, and boxed 
his ears. Then she laid herself down again and 
was fast asleep in a moment. 

“Oho!” said the young man. “Is that the way 
of it? How long has your lady been of this 
mind?” 


THE CASTLE OF DELIGHT 


101 


“For many a weary year/’ answered the wait¬ 
ing-maid who had spoken before. ‘'She had the 
ill luck to offend a certain wizard who sought 
shelter here and was most hospitably treated, as 
are all travellers who come this way. But this 
infamous creature, envious of our lady’s riches 
and good fortune and wishing to make himself 
master of the castle, demanded her hand in mar¬ 
riage. When this was refused, out of revenge he 
caused her to drink a vile potion which cast her 
into the uneasy sleep in which she now lies 
before you.” 

“Ungrateful wretch!” cried the young man. 
“Would that I had him here.” 

“Since that hour,” continued the waiting- 
maid, “our lady has slept continually, only wak¬ 
ing at long intervals and never remaining awake 
more than a few seconds. And while she sleeps 
she dreams of naught but wretchedness and 
misery and sees all the most unhappy things that 
come to pass in the world. As for this place that 
was erstwhile called the Castle of Delight and a 
refuge for weary travellers, it is now but a place 
of misery and a snare, for at cockcrow every 
morning the castle and all belonging to it sink 


102 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


into the ground, while the wayfarer who rests 
here wakens to find himself leagues away in 
desolate country, exposed to wind and weather/’ 

'‘Why then do you receive them'?” asked the 
young man. 

"It is our doom,” replied the maid, "to the 
intent that those who were wont to bless us may 
now curse us and our lot become more wretched; 
besides we always hoped that some day a travel¬ 
ler would arrive strong enough to break the spell. 
As for our lady, who was formerly of the most 
sweet and gentle disposition imaginable, she is 
completely changed and so long as she remains 
awake is utterly intractable.” 

"Say you so?” said the young man. "Then 
shall she be awakened immediately.” So saying, 
he bent over the lady and shook her by the 
shoulder. She awoke instantly and started to 
her feet, trembling with rage. "Get you gone, 
varlet!” she cried and dealt the young man such 
a box on the ear that he staggered across the 
room; then she laid herself down once more and 
at once fell fast asleep. 

"I am the master in this castle,” said the young 
man, "and all must do my pleasure. Go, one of 


THE CASTLE OF DELIGHT 


103 

you, to the hall where the travellers are being 
entertained and fetch me the priest who is among 
the company; hasten and tarry not. And you 
others be ready to help me with your mistress 
when I awaken her the third time.’' 

The maid sped away as fast as she could, and 
was back again in a trice leading the holy man. 
Then the young man stooped over the lady once 
more and this time he held her firmly by both 
wrists while he shook her and cried, ‘'Wake up! 
Wake up!” As soon as she was awake she leapt 
to her feet and would have struck the young man 
again, but he held her wrists fast while he said; 
“Come now, this will not do! All that is in this 
castle belongs to me, so you must treat me with 
consideration. This good priest shall marry us at 
once; then if the castle sinks into the ground you 
will be left behind with me, safe and sound, for 
a good wife always stays with her husband.” 

Then she fought and struggled and screamed 
and bit, but the priest knew that the young man 
had been kind to the sick merchant and all his 
companions and he did not doubt that he would 
be good to the lady, so he hastened to pronounce 
them man and wife and blessed them. And as 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


104 

the young man slipped his ring on her finger she 
became suddenly gentle, and when he kissed her 
she thanked him sweetly for having saved her 
and all her household from their miserable state. 

Then the maids hastened to the windows and 
drew the curtains and behold, day was dawning 
and the castle had not sunk into the ground! 
And while they watched the sun rise, the harp 
began to murmur, 

‘'Come, play me, 

I pray thee!” 

So the young man swept his hand across the 
strings and the chamber was filled with melody 
while the harp sang: 

“Master, you have proved right well. 
Stronger than a wizard’s spell 
Is your good intent. 

Yours is now this goodly treasure, 

Joy and fortune beyond measure. 

Prithee, be content.” 

“Indeed I am content,” said the young man. 
“And so am I,” said the beautiful lady. 


THE CASTLE OF DELIGHT 105 

‘‘And so are we all/’ said the waiting-maids. 
And as they spoke, there was the most tre¬ 
mendous cheering and shouting, and all the 
people in the castle came running, with the 
seneschal at their head, to thank the young man 
for having proved himself stronger than the 
wizard, and saved their mistress. So there was 
the greatest rejoicing and all the travellers were 
invited to the wedding feast and shown the 
wonders of the castle. There were rooms carved 
and painted to look like glades of forest trees, 
and other rooms which resembled groves of coral 
under the sea, and there were fountains and 
terraces and gardens wherein grew every fruit to 
be found in the world, but they all agreed that 
nothing was more marvellous than the golden 
harp which hung upon the young man’s chair 
and sang sweetly while everybody feasted. 

And when they had made merry for a fort¬ 
night and the old merchant had recovered from 
his sickness the travellers went their way, laden 
with gifts and praising their entertainment. And 
from that time forth the fame of the Castle of 
Delight spread over the whole world and every 
traveller who spent a night there blessed his good 


io6 THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

fortune. As for the young man and his bride, they 
governed the country round with the greatest 
wisdom and discretion, while the lady was famed 
for her beauty and sweetness of disposition. So 
they all lived happily ever after. 


Hard Times 


IViNGS are out of fashion 
And my harp is out of tune; 

The queen has gone to market 
To sell her silver shoon. 

But the prince shall be my sweetheart 
And he shall seek renown; 

And I will cut his supper 

Both of white bread and of brown. 

And when Fve put my house to rights 
And he has won the day,, 

Then ril tune up my harp again 
And joy will come to stay. 


The Story of the Learned 
Man 

O NCE upon a time there was a certain 
learned man who lived at the court 
of a great queen and devoted him¬ 
self to the pursuit of knowledge. The 
queen was accustomed to consult him in all 
matters of difficulty and had often been heard to 
say that she would not have been without his 
services for the half of her kingdom. Neverthe¬ 
less, he lived very plainly with only his books for 
company and gave himself no airs whatever. 

One day the queen came to see him in great 
distress. ‘1 have come to consult you,” she said, 
"'about my youngest daughter, who occasions me 
the deepest sorrow. She does not behave as befits 
a daughter of mine, but turns the whole palace 
topsy-turvy. She beats the ladies-in-waiting, is 
sullen when she should be gay, and lively when 


STORY OF THE LEARNED MAN 109 

she should be quiet, puts her elbows on the table 
and bites her nails in an ill-bred manner.” 

The learned man worked it out by long 
measure and worked it out by square measure 
and when he had finished he said: ‘‘The long and 
the short of it is, your daughter is bewitched. 
How long has she been in this state?” 

“A twelve-month,” said the queen, “but I have 
striven to conceal it. However, the truth can no 
longer be hidden. What do you advise?” 

Then said the learned man, “I will consult 
the stars and seek wisdom in my books, and I 
have great hope that a way out of this difficulty 
will be found.” 

A week later he presented himself before the 
queen and requested a private audience, and 
when this was graciously granted to him he 
begged that the princess might be summoned, as 
what he was about to say concerned her very 
closely. So the princess was fetched, and when 
she came she flung herself down upon a stool 
without so much as a curtsey and at once began 
biting her nails in an ill-bred manner. 

Then said the learned man: “Madam, I have 
discovered what ails your daughter. When she 


no 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

was born, the royal nurse was taking an airing in 
the palace grounds one morning when she was 
approached by an old woman who said to her, 
Tf you wish your little princess to grow up the 
most beautiful and accomplished lady in the 
world, bring her to me and I will dip her in a 
magic pool, and she shall have wisdom and 
beauty in such degree that every other princess 
shall look like a blackamoor beside her/ So one 
night the nurse secretly brought the baby to the 
old woman, who jumped on a broomstick and 
flew away over the mountains and dipped the 
baby in a black pool, leaving the nurse terrified. 
In a few seconds the old woman returned, tossed 
the child to the nurse and disappeared, chuckling 
horribly. The nurse in great distress sought out 
the wise man whose duty it was at that time to 
advise your Majesty and related to him all that 
had occurred, which he wrote down in his book. 
Then bidding the nurse say nothing, he made 
enquiries and found that the old woman, who 
was a most malevolent witch, had by great good 
fortune been captured by a valiant knight soon 
after leaving the palace gardens. And the knight 
would have slain her, but she bore a charmed life. 


STORY OF THE LEARNED MAN 111 


so he was forced to put her in prison, where she 
could do no more harm to anybody; and there 
she had to stay. And as the baby seemed not one 
penny the worse, the wise man bade the nurse 
keep her own counsel, which she did. Then in 
course of time, as you know, the wise man died 
and I became your Majesty’s adviser, and I 
found the whole story written in his books. Now 
since your Majesty came to me in this matter I 
have been very busy, and I have discovered that 
the witch escaped from her prison exactly a 
twelve-month ago, and she is undoubtedly the 
cause of your daughter’s behaviour, for she can 
do what she pleases with her on account of hav¬ 
ing dipped her in the magic pool when she was 
a baby.” 

Then said the queen, '‘Alas! what is to be 
done?” 

"Do not despair,” said the learned man. 
"There are mightier things than an old witch, 
and I will take your daughter out into the world 
and seek her deliverance.” 

"Good and trusty counsellor,” said the queen, 
"it shall be as you say; and if you bring her back 
cured, I will give you the half of my kingdom.” 


112 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


So the learned man and the young princess 
set off together to visit all the countries of the 
world and see if anyone could free her from the 
power of the witch. They travelled on horseback 
with a number of serving-maids and men, but it 
was impossible for them to present themselves 
at any court, as the princess behaved so badly; 
so they were forced to lodge at the inns. And 
even there the princess would beat the servants 
and throw the food about till no one would wait 
upon her but the learned man himself. He, how¬ 
ever, served her with the greatest patience, and 
wherever they went he enquired if any person 
of great wisdom and goodness dwelt in the 
neighbourhood, hoping to find someone who 
would tell him how to cure the princess. How¬ 
ever, everybody he consulted assured him the 
case was quite hopeless and he might as well 
spare himself his pains. 

Now one day, when the princess had been 
behaving worse than usual and he was at his 
wits’ end what to do with her, he was sitting on a 
bench in the courtyard of the inn where they were 
lodging, when the landlord’s little son came and 
begged him to tell him a story. Then the learned 



STORY OF THE LEARNED MAN 113 

man took the boy on his knee and told him of 
all the lands he had travelled through and the 
wonders he had seen, and when he had finished 
the boy said, ‘T can show you something much 
more wonderful than anything you have told me 
about, only it is a great secret and you must 
promise not to tell anybody about it.” 

So the learned man promised and the boy led 
him into the forest and showed him a little path 
hidden away where no one would see it, and 
they went along this path until they came to the 
foot of a big mountain which lay beyond the 
forest, and there the path stopped altogether. 
However, the boy kept straight on, scrambling 
over boulders and climbing here and jumping 
there and all of a sudden he cried out, ‘‘Here it 
is!” And there was a stairway of pure gold and 
slippery as ice set in the side of the mountain and 
leading right to the top. 

“Nobody ever comes here but me,” said the 
boy, “and the beautiful lady who lives in the 
mountain at the very top. She is the wisest 
woman in the world and can tell you anything. 
Sometimes she comes down the stairway and 
talks to me, and tells me such wonderful stories 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


114 

and sings so beautifully that I could almost 
believe I was in heaven; but I have never been 
able to mount the stairway for it is slippery as 
ice, and as fast as I get up two steps I fall down 
again/' 

Then said the learned man, 'Tet me try,” and 
he began carefully ascending the golden stairs, 
but when he reached the third, his feet shot out 
from under him and he slid to the bottom with 
a rush. And he had no better success when he 
tried again; nevertheless, he made up his mind 
he would get to the top if possible, because he 
greatly desired to see the beautiful lady who 
lived in the mountain, for he was convinced she 
could tell him how to cure the princess. 

However, he saw that it was likely to prove 
a long and hazardous undertaking, and it would 
not do to leave the princess with no protection 
but her waiting-maids and men; so kissing the 
boy and promising the utmost secrecy, he hurried 
back to the inn to make arrangements for the 
princess’s safety. 

Now it happened that just as he returned to 
the inn three handsome princes rode down the 
highway and called to the landlord to bring them 


STORY OF THE LEARNED MAN 115 

wine to quench their thirst. And while the land¬ 
lord was serving them the learned man enquired 
who they might be and was told they were the 
three sons of the king of that country and very 
valiant and accomplished knights. Thereupon 
the learned man presented himself before the 
princes and begged for a word with them. 

‘'Young sirs/’ he said, ‘T am the counsellor-in¬ 
chief to the Queen of the Southern Lands and 
am travelling upon her business. I have with me 
her youngest daughter, who is sadly afflicted, 
and I needs must leave her while I undertake a 
difficult journey in pursuance of my mistress’s 
commands. It is necessary that I should leave the 
princess in good hands, and if you will watch 
over her like true knights you will assist me to 
bring this business to a fortunate conclusion and 
greatly add to your knightly renown. But I warn 
you that the princess is very difficult to deal with 
and you should think well before you enter upon 
such a task.” 

Then said the princes like one man, “Present 
us to the lady.” 

Thereupon the learned man sent word to the 
princess that three strangers desired to wait upon 


ii6 THE FORTUNATE DAYS 

her, but when he led them into her presence she 
would take no notice of them whatever, but 
turned her back upon them and began biting her 
nails in an ill-bred manner. 

Then said the eldest prince, who was of a 
haughty disposition: ''What behaviour is this? 
I will not put up with such treatment.” And he 
mounted his horse and rode away in a pet. 

The second prince, however, who observed 
that the princess was very beautiful, spoke po¬ 
litely to the learned man and, saying he wished 
to be better acquainted with the lady, requested 
that they might all dine together. When the food 
was brought, however, the princess behaved 
worse than ever, and threw the dishes about the 
room and beat the learned man when he offered 
to wait upon her. 

"This is worse than a kitchen wench,” said 
the second prince. "I will have no more of it.” 
So he too mounted and rode away. 

Then the learned man wrung his hands in 
despair, but the third prince said: "Be comforted. 
I am convinced that no princess would behave 
like this unless she were greatly afflicted; doubt¬ 
less some spell has been cast upon her. Go you 


STORY OF THE LEARNED MAN 117 

on your journey and I will watch over the lady 
like my own life, and when you return we will 
lay our heads together and see if we cannot de¬ 
vise some means for her relief/’ 

Then the learned man blessed him and praised 
him for a true knight and commended the prin¬ 
cess to his care. And staying only to put a little 
bread and some raisins in his wallet he bade the 
prince be vigilant and hastened away. 

He soon found the secret path in the forest, 
but when he reached the foot of the mountain his 
troubles began. He climbed hither and thither, 
but there was now no path to guide him, and 
night came on and he had not found the golden 
stairway, though he was stiff and sore with 
clambering over the great boulders. However, 
he ate a little bread and laid himself down to 
sleep under a rock and in the morning he tried 
again. He wandered hither and thither all that 
day without success and tore his clothes to shreds 
and bruised himself from head to foot; however, 
he laid himself down at night in no wise dis¬ 
couraged, resolved to try again next morning. 
The next day his search was rewarded and at 
sundown he found himself at the foot of the 


ii8 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


golden staircase, only too stiff and bruised to at¬ 
tempt the ascent, so he ate a little more of his 
bread and lay down to sleep under another big 
boulder. In the morning he dreamed that a 
beautiful lady came down the stairway and bent 
over him, singing so sweetly that he awoke. How¬ 
ever, when he opened his eyes, there was no one 
to be seen, but the sun was shining on the golden 
stairs so brightly that he could not bear to look 
at it. 

When he had made a scanty meal, he at once 
began to try to mount the stairway, but alas! the 
pure gold was polished to such a degree that it 
was more slippery than ice, and as fast as he got 
up two or three stairs, his foot would slip and 
he would roll to the bottom. And at the end of 
the day he was no further than at the beginning, 
only more bruised and tired than ever! So he 
spent another night under the boulder and just 
before he woke in the morning he dreamed that 
the same beautiful lady came down the golden 
steps and sang to him so sweetly that he awoke. 
However, when he opened his eyes, there was 
nothing to be seen but the sun shining on the 


STORY OF THE LEARNED MAN 119 

stairway so brightly that he could not bear to 
look at it. 

He tried again all that day, but though he 
managed to mount as many as six stairs at a time 
he could get no further, and night found him at 
the foot of the stairway, more tired and bruised 
than ever, but still determined to get to the top 
by hook or by crook. And he continued trying for 
many days, and some days he had luck and could 
get up as many as twenty and some days he could 
get up none at all; but however high he managed 
to get, just before sundown he always slid right 
to the bottom and there he had to stay till next 
morning. And every morning just before he woke 
he had the same dream about the beautiful lady, 
though when he opened his eyes there was noth¬ 
ing to be seen but the sun shining on the golden 
stairway. 

However, after trying and trying for many 
days, he grew so nimble and surefooted that one 
day he managed to get nearly halfway up the 
mountain before night came on and he lost his 
footing and slid to the bottom. The next morning 
he had the same dream, but when he opened his 
eyes, there was the beautiful lady herself bend- 


120 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


ing over him and the learned man knew that she 
was the wise woman who dwelt in the mountain. 

‘'Who are you, O ragged man?” said the wise 
woman. “And why do you wish to see me so 
much?” 

Then said the learned man, “O gracious lady, 
I serve the Queen of the Southern Lands, and I 
wished to see you to learn if you could do any¬ 
thing for the unhappy princess my mistress has 
committed to my charge.” 

Then the lady said, “Give me your hand and 
come with me, and I will share all my knowledge 
with you.” So the learned man gave her his hand 
and while she held it in her grasp he found that 
he could walk up the golden stairway as easily as 
the stairs in his mistress’s palace. And he quite 
forgot how bruised and cut and stiff he was, and 
at every step he took he felt stronger and more 
light of heart. And at the top of the stairway 
there was a door let in the side of the mountain 
and the wise woman bade him enter and let the 
mountain sprites who waited upon her bring him 
everything he desired. 

So the mountain sprites led him to a cool 
chamber where was a perpetual spring of water 


STORY OF THE LEARNED MAN 121 


and a bath of white marble, and new raiment of 
the most costly and wonderful texture; and when 
he had bathed and arrayed himself handsomely 
he was conducted to the presence of the wise 
woman. 

She was sitting in a lofty apartment at the top 
of the mountain. The roof was of pure gold sup¬ 
ported by columns of marble encrusted with 
jewels, and all the furnishings were of the most 
beautiful description. There were great windows 
all round the room from whence it was possible 
to see all the kingdoms of the world, and the 
Four Winds had placed their gentlest breezes as 
sentinels on every side, so that none but the soft¬ 
est and most invigorating airs could enter. 

The wise woman bade the learned man seat 
himself beside her and a gorgeous feast was at 
once spread in his honour. ‘T know all about 
you,” said the wise woman, ‘'and I have watched 
your efforts to ascend my difficult staircase with 
the greatest interest. And I tell you frankly that 
I have no doubt at all that at length you would 
have succeeded quite unaided, but I have con¬ 
ceived a high opinion of you and was minded to 
spare you some trouble.” 


122 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


The learned man thanked her very much for 
her goodness and begged her gracious help on 
behalf of the young princess who was so greatly 
afflicted through no fault of her own. 

‘'Nothing could give me greater pleasure/’ 
said the wise woman, drawing a ring from her 
finger. “Give this to the prince who now guards 
her and bid him place it on her finger and kiss 
her three times.” 

Then the banquet being finished, she rose and 
gave her hand to the learned man and conducted 
him down the golden staircase to the foot of the 
mountain, where she bade him farewell and 
pointed out the easiest way back to the inn. 

The learned man parted from her with the 
greatest regret, but he was most anxious to return 
to the unfortunate princess, so he did not linger 
but made all speed. 

When he reached the inn, however, what was 
his consternation to find that the princess had 
mysteriously disappeared and the prince had 
gone in search of her and nothing had been heard 
of either of them for many days. While he was 
debating what to do, however, a page who had 
been in attendance on the prince rode into the 


STORY OF THE LEARNED MAN 123 

courtyard all covered in dust, and falling on one 
knee before the learned man said: ‘‘My master 
the prince begs that you will accompany me 
without delay. He has found the princess, who 
is guarded by a horrible dragon, and he only 
awaits your arrival to attack the monster and 
slay it.” 

Then the learned man hastily called for fresh 
horses and he and the page rode away as fast as 
they could gallop. They rode for seven days and 
nights, getting fresh horses where they could, 
and at last came to a most desolate country in 
which was a wilderness and there they found 
the prince awaiting them. 

“Good friend,” said the prince, “I am rejoiced 
to see you, for I am weary of waiting to destroy 
that dragon. Soon after you left the inn an old 
woman came desiring to see the princess and 
when she was denied admittance at the door she 
popped through a window and ran upstairs. And 
the next thing we heard was a horrible commo¬ 
tion in the chimney and we were just in time to 
see the witch fly away on a broomstick with the 
princess behind her. I at once started in pursuit 
and by good luck was guided to this spot by a 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


124 

friendly magician whom I met on the road and 
who bears the witch a grudge. His art, however, 
was not strong enough to be of any assistance to 
me and he bade me farewell, bidding me rely 
upon my sword. The princess is in a garden in the 
very heart of the wilderness, guarded by the 
dragon, and I have forborne to slay the monster 
until your arrival, being of the opinion that it 
was wisest for her to remain where she was until 
we could devise means to place her out of the 
reach of the witch’s magic, lest the moment she 
was free from the dragon she might be spirited 
away again and all trace of her be lost.” 

Then said the learned man: “Fear no more, 
but take this ring. When you have slain the 
monster place the ring on the princess’s finger 
and kiss her three times, when she will be com¬ 
pletely restored.” 

Then the prince hastily led the way into the 
midst of the wilderness, and there was a magical 
garden with all manner of fruits in it and they 
could see the princess sitting under one of the 
trees biting her nails as usual in an ill-bred 
manner. At the gate lay an immense dragon with 
two scaly wings and horrible claws and when it 



‘'At the third kiss she rose . . . and thanked the 
prince and the learned man most sweetly,^' 











STORY OF THE LEARNED MAN 125 

saw the prince it spread its great wings with a 
noise like thunder and rushed upon him breath¬ 
ing smoke and flames. The prince, however, pos¬ 
sessed a stout heart in his breast and was not 
easily dismayed, so he drew his trusty sword and 
waited for the monster to come on. Soon a terrible 
battle was raging and twenty times it looked as 
if the prince must be borne down and slain. But 
he always managed to leap aside just in time 
and to deal a good blow at his enemy; and at 
last he drove his sharp sword clean through the 
dragon’s heart and the terrible monster fell dead. 
Then the prince flung his sword to the learned 
man, rushed to the gate of the garden and 
climbed over without waiting for anything. The 
moment the princess saw him she began to scream 
at the top of her voice, but he took no notice 
whatever but put the wise woman’s ring on her 
finger without more ado and kissed her three 
times. At the first kiss she screamed and struggled 
and bit like a wild animal; at the second kiss she 
dropped down in a swoon and lay as if dead; 
and at the third kiss she rose and stood on her 
feet completely restored to her proper frame of 
mind and thanked the prince and the learned 


126 


THE FORTUNATE DAYS 


man most sweetly for delivering her from the 
power of the witch. 

''And indeed,” she said, "I can never thank 
you sufficiently, for I was compelled against my 
will to behave so badly, which added to my 
misery.” 

Then said the prince: "Fair and gentle lady, 
I rejoice to have been of the slightest service to 
you. This is the happiest day of my life.” 

So they all rode back to the court of the Queen 
of the Southern Lands, and there the prince and 
princess were wedded with the greatest rejoic¬ 
ings, and they lived happily ever after. 

As for the learned man, nothing was too good 
for him. The queen would have loaded him with 
benefits, but he refused all, saying it was suffi¬ 
cient honour to have accomplished his task and 
brought happiness to his royal mistress. So he 
retired to his own house and the company of his 
books and gave himself up to the pursuit of 
learning. 

But once every year he received a command 
from the wise woman to visit her in her home at 
the top of the mountains, when he would at once 
forsake all and ride away to the foot of the 


STORY OF THE LEARNED MAN 127 

golden staircase. There he would find the wise 
woman herself waiting to conduct him to the 
top and there he would stay till a month had 
expired, when he had to return to his own coun¬ 
try. And the wise woman taught him by degrees 
all her own wisdom and showed him from her 
windows all the wonderful things that were 
happening in the world, so that at last the fame 
of his learning spread through every kingdom 
and reached even to the borders of Fairyland. 


Ton and Me 

If J went out into the world 
And you were left behind^ 

While I went searching high and low 
Adventures strange to find^ 

I should not care a penny piece 
If you weren't there to see. 

And couldn't share in all the luck 
Good fortune sent to me. 

So fetch your wallet and your sword 
And you shall be my brother. 

And when we reach our journey's end 
We'll up and begin another I 



■* 




.PT. 








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